


To The Other Side

by wannaberebel



Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron Legendary Defender
Genre: A tiny bit of Klance, Action/Adventure, Angst, Bayard - Freeform, Castle of Lions - Freeform, F/M, Insecurities, Lance character arc, M/M, Post Season 2, Season 2 spoilers, Slow burn action, Sorry for lack of Slav I couldn't figure out where to put him in, Voltron, blue lion - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-20 01:40:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 47,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9469754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wannaberebel/pseuds/wannaberebel
Summary: Lance has three demons he can't escape.When his jealousy, temptation, and stress lead him to face his emotions, his rival, and a Galra prince with ulterior motives, Lance's life is changed forever.WARNING: STORY CONTAINS SEASON TWO SPOILERS





	1. Prologue

Before this incident, Lance didn’t know the true severity of his demons.

 

_Stress._

 

The legitimate feeling of your brain being crushed, folding in on itself from pressure. The pressure of being great, of doing good, of excelling all expectations.

 

_Temptation._

 

The dire need to sprint to the protection and comfort of the thing that you in your heart is wrong. The want to escape the routine of purity and morality you endure every day of your life.

 

_Jealousy._

 

It’s like a small needle pricking the back of your neck. An irritation that makes you want to self-destruct. A complete and utter feeling of envy.

 

Each of these brutal sensations came forth from deep within Lance’s body, and joined to form a rare anger he couldn’t escape.

 

But, of course, Lance hid this anger like he hid the rest of his emotions

 

_With a smile._


	2. What He Said

The first few days after Shiro’s disappearance were so depressingly hectic, it was hard for Lance not to laugh.

When Shiro’s vacant lion was discovered, Keith spent at least two hours breaking down. His shouts of panic and self hatred were resonant in every room of the castle-ship. Lance reckoned those two hours were the longest, and maybe even the hardest, hours of his life. He doubted he was the only one who felt that way, too.

After a harsh scolding from Allura, and many a “it wasn’t your fault” from the paladins, Keith stopped his frantic pacing and headed to his bedroom. Team Voltron was left in a constant state of worry over the fact that Keith didn’t leave his room for four days, except when he went into the kitchen for the occasional snack.

Each of the members of Team Voltron were utterly stuck with nothing to do but to find a way to cope with the hard truth of losing Shiro to a vast emptiness filled with unanswered questions. Every one of them, except Lance, was caught in crazed state trying to fix the wrong that someone, some _thing_ had done unto them.

Instead of turning to isolationism, Hunk and Pidge unceasingly dashed around the castle muttering a bit maniacally about ideas for different gadgets. Together, over the course of four days, the pair built new technology and strange objects of all shapes and sizes. Each complex device was made with the hope of finding their lost leader, but none of them came to any avail.

Lance lost count of how many whatchamacallits and thingamabobs piled up in the castle storage room. By the time they had given up, every wire and crystal in the castle had been snatched up by Hunk, examined thoroughly by Pidge, and then thrown into a junk-pile without a second thought.

Unfortunately, Coran and Allura were no more calm and collected than the two newfound inventors of the team. Coran double-checked, and triple-checked every system-mechanical or otherwise-in the palace. The only time he stopped was to shout the word, “quiznak!” from time-to-time.

While all this went on around her, Allura was practically glued to her center station in the bridge of the ship. Using her power over the teladuv, she transported the castle to every galaxy imaginable, with a set look of hard determination that never left her face. She then proceeded to scan each galaxy for any slight evidence that Shiro was alive.

Throughout all of this mayhem Lance...well, Lance did nothing but watch. He watched Keith emerge from his room routinely, wandering into the kitchen before wandering back into his dark corridor. He watched disappointment arise on the faces of the yellow and green paladins whenever one of their inventions turned out to be a flop. He watched the wrinkles become more predominant on Coran’s face the longer he worked. He watched the beads of sweat trickle down Allura’s dark skin while she searched.

The more Lance thought about it, the more he realized he couldn’t recall doing anything besides that. He couldn’t even remember a single word coming out of his mouth, which was definitely a surprise. But Lance didn’t really feel the need to contribute to the dilemma. The only redeeming quality he thought he had was the fact that he was the good shot. So, maybe took pride in his ability to attract girls as well, but he figured that wasn’t a crime. Either way, the blue paladin didn’t really see how his attributes could help the situation he and his friends were in.

On the fourth day after Shiro's disappearance, Hunk found it in him to cook lunch for the distraught residents of the castle. Lance walked into the kitchen in the middle of the meal to find Hunk and Pidge, and Coran and Allura eating at one of the steel counters. The unofficial chef of the Castle of Lions had prepared crispy purple and orange tubers, and seasoned space goo that surprisingly looked delicious.

Lance grabbed a plate and helped himself to the strange food before sitting down on a stool at the head of the counter. After receiving a brief hello from his friends Lance began to listen to Hunk as he attempted to explain his latest “Shiro-tracker.”

Hunk shook his head in frustration at some crazy notion Coran had made. Lance noticed how the yellow paladin tugged at the back of his head band out of habit, before continuing his sentence, “No, no, no. The hydraulic stabilizer and the power from the castle generator room were gonna act like a base. It should’ve been a success considering we worked around the algorithm Pidge found inside of Shiro’s Galra arm.”

Coran pulled at the corner of his mustache in deep thought, “Well, if you had the mucus of a gamapolous beetle then you could easily-”

Lance let out an obnoxious yawn. He’d been in the room about five minutes and he was already tired of the conversation. He wanted to talk about more important things, like that perfect shot he'd made during the battle with Zarkon. He rolled his eyes. “Sorry guys, but this is boring, and gross. If I knew you two would be talking about bug spit while i’m trying to eat, I would’ve ditched you for the mice,” Lance said with a smirk.

Coran wiggled an eyebrow and leant against the counter. Lance groaned and put his head in his hands. He knew from past experience that he was in for a long and lame talk, about “the many spectacular uses for bug spit.”

However, before Coran could lecture Lance into the next decaphoeb he was stopped in his tracks at the arrival of a loud noise. The sound of an automatic door sliding open.

Lance didn’t think much of the noise at first. Over the last few days, he had gotten used to the sound of his frantic friends rushing in and out of chambers looking for something to do. But, as he glanced around the counter, Lance realized that for the first time in four days, all of his friends were in the same place. Everyone except…

As if on cue, Keith strolled into the newly silent kitchen and sat down on the stool opposite Lance. Lance even thought he heard a piece of food goo drop from Pidge's spoon in anticipation. He couldn’t be sure though, because like everyone else, his eyes were focused on the boy across from him. Keith meanwhile, was painfully oblivious to the gaping stares he was receiving.

His head was lowered, and his eyes were clouded in a way that made Lance wonder about the events that took place in Keith’s room during the past four days. In an attempt to break long lasting and awkward silence Lance spoke, “So-”

“What are we even doing here?” Keith interrupted, his gaze not meeting the ones of his friends. “We’ve wasted four days doing nothing useful, giving the Galra plenty of time to get back up on their feet,” Keith’s voice was scratchy and unused as he spoke.

The members of Team Voltron glanced at each other as if having an unspoken conversation about how to comfort their distressed friend.

Hunk stood up and walked over to Keith and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Uh-Keith… buddy, we _killed_ Zarkon, the Galras _emperor_. I don’t think they’ll be getting back up on their feet any time soon.”

Keith shrugged Hunk off and clenched his fist. His tone was irritated as he spoke, “Do you really think that after _10,000 years_ of conquering and strategizing, the Galra never thought of a plan B? That they never thought of preparing an heir to take over Zarkon’s throne?”

Coran hummed in thought. “In the days of old, the only way for an heir to inherit a kingdom, in our galaxy system, was to have a direct bloodline to the King or Queen.”

Pidge, who’d been staring off into open space, pushed her glasses up as to notify the group of her her sudden interest in the conversation. She asked, “Allura, do you remember if Zarkon ever had a kid?”

Allura shook her head and combed her hair while she talked, “Before I was cryogenically frozen, Zarkon had no family. At least, that’s what my father told me.”

“Well,” The castle mechanic began to add, “The child would have had to of been born within the last century, or else they would’ve died of old age.”

Lance scratched his head. “After 10,000 years, would Zarkon even be able to...you know... _make_ an heir?” He didn’t mean for his question to come out as a joke, but suddenly, everyone around him was laughing. Lance smiled at the looks on his friends' faces. He and his giggling team probably would have seemed normal to an outside observer. For the first time in days all of the problems they were facing seemed to disappear.

Soon the laughter quieted and the atmosphere settled. Keith pushed his dark hair back and chuckled once more. His voice was calmer as he picked up where the conversation left off, “The point is, even with Zarkon gone, there's still thousands of galaxies under Galra control. We should to contact the Blade of Marmora and fight to help those people. We need to form Voltron.”

Allura put her hands on the counter and stood up, her blue eyes sparkling. “Keith's right. I’m sorry i've been distracted these last few days, but this is no time for messing around. It's time to form Voltron,” She said, glancing at each of the paladins as she talked.

Pidge raised her hand sheepishly, and cleared her throat as the other members of the team turned to look at her. “Sorry to ruin your mojo, princess, but we _can't_ form Voltron. Not without…”, Her voice trailed off.

_Not without Shiro._

Lance knew what Pidge was going to say. He figured everyone in the room did, considering how deflated the room felt after she finished speaking. The positive and go-lucky vibe in that had been in the room not a minute earlier, had completely faded.

He decided to speak up before the mood in the room could get any duller. “Look Keith, if we _could_ form Voltron we'd kicking Galra ass, and blastin’ holes in their walls right now. But we can't, so we've gotta come up with something else.”

Keith grunted, and for the first time in four days, he made full-on eye contact with Lance. Giving him an undeterred look that made him feel like they were the only two people in the room. When Keith spoke, he addressed everyone in the room, but his eyes were exclusively on the blue paladin who sat across from him.

He said, “That's what i've been meaning to talk to you about…I need to pilot the Black Lion.”

* * *

 

Lance felt his jaw drop to the floor. He pushed his stool away from the counter and stood up vigorously. " _What?_ ", He shouted. 

Lance felt a blush rise to his face when he noticed the pairs of eyes that were now settled upon him. He ran a hair through his brown hair and let out an awkward laugh as he sat back down. “Uh-I mean, why would you pilot the black lion?” He said sheepishly.

 _Nice one Lance._  

Keith glanced around the table once before explaining. “Shiro told me if anything ever happened to him, that I should lead Voltron. I didn't think...I didn't _know_ it would come to mean anything. I _can't_ let him down, not when he needs us the most.”

Lance felt like someone had just punched him in the gut.

_Shiro wanted Keith to lead Voltron? Why?_

His head was spinning from an emotion he didn't recognize. Jealousy? No, that couldn't be it. Lance didn't get jealous, especially not over Keith.

He was drawn from his thoughts at the sound of his name being called. “Huh?”, Lance blinked and saw Hunk waving a hand in his face.

“Earth to Lance…I called your name like four times, man,” Hunk said with a raised eyebrow.

Lance smiled his classic cool-as-ice smile and waved off his brief distraction. He turned to Allura as she began speaking, “I figured you'd bring this up sooner or later.”

Keith's plum colored eyes widened in surprise. “Allura, you knew about this?

The princess shook her head in agreement. “The night after Shiro was released from the healing pod he came and talked to me. I tried to stop him from talking so strangely, but he insisted on telling me that he wanted you to lead the team. It's as if...he knew this would happen somehow.”

Pidge swiveled in her stool to face Keith, with an inquisitive look on her face. "Wait," she began, "do we know that you can even pilot the Black Lion? I thought only its true paladin could do that."

Coran got up from his place on the stool and began to pace the kitchen. "Well, Pidge, even though that is true most of the time, there _are_  rare emergencies when a lion may accept another pilot."

Lance argued, "So, how do we even know the Black Lion  _wants_ Keith? I personally think it deserves someone a little more handsome to pilot it." 

"I've already piloted the Black Lion," Keith said in outburst.

Allura covered her mouth with her hand in shock. "Okay,  _that_ , I wasn't aware of."

Every person in the room in the room leaned forward, completely silent. Each one, waiting for Keith to explain the sentence that had just come out of his mouth, although it seemed he didn't feel obliged to give one. 

Lance hoped with every bone in his body that Keith was lying. That by 'piloting the Black Lion' he meant, 'chillin' inside the Black Lion with a nice cup of space juice'. He knew deep down that he wouldn't be able to take his rival leading the team. He shuddered at the thought of Keith bossing him around, telling him what to do and how to do it. 

Hunk looked around as if to make sure that everyone else was in the same state of confusion that he was. He spoke up in attempt to make Keith continue his thought, "Dude?"

After about ten more long and painfully quiet tics, Keith pulled on his fingerless gloves and placed his hands on the back of his neck. He sighed, "Before you guys located us, Shiro and I were stuck in a pretty bad situation. I was alright for the most part but Shiro...not so much. He was struggling with the pain of an alien wound and was being brutally attack by huge lizard-like monsters. By the time I found him I knew I wouldn't of been able to get to him before the creatures did. So, I took matters into my own hands and asked his lion for help. I didn't have any trouble piloting it, so I doubt things will be much different now." Keith raised his eyebrows at the rest of his friends when he saw that none of them had moved an inch. "It really isn't that big of a deal, it just means that we now how a way to form Voltron."

Hunk was the first one to recover from Keith's story. He scratched his head, "Yeah, I get how that solves the Black Lion issue," Hunk put his hand to his chin and looked up, as if the rest of the group could visually see his thoughts, "but we still have one little problem. There's five lions, and we only have four paladins."

Pidge nodded as she took a bite of her now cold meal. Her voice was muffled as she talked with food in her mouth, "Mmm, yeah that might pose a threat to your 'full proof plan' to stop the Galra."

Keith crossed his arms. "Isn't it obvious? Until we find Shiro, Allura will pilot the Blue Lion, and Lance will pilot Red."

Lance did a spit-take with the juice that had previously been in his mouth. The thought of anyone other than him piloting his lion made him want to laugh. "No way in hell am I abandoning Blue. I'm not heartless, unlike some people." He turned away from his rival only to point at him from behind his other hand, and mouthed the words, 'i'm talking about Keith', to Coran. Lance turned to once again face the red paladin. "Besides, there's no way anyone besides me would be able to tame the ferocious and powerful Blue Lion."

Keith shook his head. "You don't have a choice, you're the only one besides me who has a chance at piloting the Red Lion. Only people that act on instinct can pilot her, and in that category, you're the runner-up."

Lance figured Keith's suggestion was meant to be a compliment, but he found it hard to take it as such. He hated the idea of having to be runner-up to Keith, even though that's how it was most of the time, anyway. Lance had never really gotten used to always coming in second, but for some reason this time it really hit him hard. He felt the pang of envy that he felt minutes before flow through him once again. A slight scowl settled upon his face. 

"Allura, what do you think?", Coran asked. 

 _Of course they make sure_ she's  _okay with this, but when I complain they act like i'm a prisoner bitching about tight handcuffs._

"I do see how that could work," The princess said, her fingers thrumming on the countertop. "But, I can't pilot a lion and control the castle at the same time."

Pidge leaned forward on her stool. "What if I could find a way that would allow you to use the teladuv from the blue lion," She suggested.

Allura knitted her eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"

"Well," the green paladin began, "Coran can manage the particle barrier along with the castle defenses on his own right? But he can't wormhole the ship without you there. So, I think I might be able to find a way to transport the technology from your control station into the Blue Lion, which would then let you contact the teladuv while piloting. It would be similar to the way I moved the power from the invisible maze to my lion." 

"Pidge, that's genius!", Coran exclaimed.

She shrugged her shoulders and smugly put her hands on her hips. "I know."

Keith stood up and began to tug off his red crop jacket. "Well then, that solves it. Everyone go suit up. We're forming Voltron."

As the others started to follow suit, Lance raised his hands in defense. "Um, guys-yeah-I don't know it any of you heard me before, but i'm not as gung-ho about this as the rest of you are."

Keith turned back around and gave Lance a serious glare. "Look, I'm sorry Lance, but right now, it's not up to you. There's no discussing it, we _have_ to form Voltron, and this is the only way. You need to step up and be a paladin," He said before walking out the kitchen door, with the rest of the group trailing behind.

 _Great. Just great._  

It hurt Lance to think of leaving his lion. He'd been through so much with Blue. As he sat in the empty kitchen, Lance clenched his fists. Keith hadn't been the leader for ten minutes and already he was throwing Lance out like a piece of trash. Sure, he never got that much from Shiro either, but at least his feelings were recognized. 

It was during this moment that Lance realized that he _was_  indeed jealous. It pained him to come terms with that, but Keith didn't deserve to be leader anymore than Pidge or Hunk did. So why was it that he got to act so high and mighty? 

Lance decided he wasn't going to let Keith have the satisfaction of being on top. He would pilot the Red Lion to the best of his ability, and prove that his team was wrong to push him aside. Lance would stay mad, of course, but he would fight to prove his worth on the team. He would fight to make a point, that he was more than just a seventh wheel.

Lance nodded in determination as he stood up from the white stool he was sitting on. As he ran through the corridors of the castle, images flashed through his mind of his friends finally treating him as an equal. He smiled.

 _Yeah_ , he thought, _I'm gonna be a hero._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this story ;) It's my first Voltron fanfiction so please leave your thoughts.


	3. Red Shock

When Lance entered the armory, he wasn't expecting to have trouble picking out what to wear. 

His friends were conversing in the middle of the vast room, about a topic that Lance thought he didn't need to be bothered with. 

As he sauntered into the room, the large metal doors that served as an entryway slid shut announcing his late arrival. Lance carried himself with a newfound determination across the large space, receiving distanced looks from his friends. He stopped in front of the pod that held the blue paladin armor, and lifted his hand up to open it. He paused as a sudden thought came into his mind. 

_Hold on...do I even wear blue anymore?_

Lance hadn't thought about whether or not he'd still be referred to as the 'blue paladin'. He had been busy rejuvenating himself with self-motivation to think about the smaller details of changing his lion. As Lance stood in front of the pod, he hoped with every bone in his body that he wouldn't have to wear the red paladin armor.

First of all, it was  _Keith's_ armor. The scrawny boy had probably dirtied it with all kinds of nasty Keith-stuff. Also, if Lance was forced to wear his rival's hand-me-downs he knew for a fact he wouldn't hear the end of it from Pidge. Second of all, Lance  _hated_  the color red. No matter what kind of clothing he wore, Lance had never looked good in red. The time when Abuela Luciana had forced him to wear the red sweater she knitted him still haunted his dreams.

Still, with all of those very valid reasons for disliking the color red, Lance moved over to the pod with the red armor inside of it. He raised his hand once again. 

_But then, if I wear the red paladin armor, what will Keith wear?_

Lance paused for a second time. He bit his lip, as if he was making the most life changing decision in his life. Although, at the time, the situation seemed pretty important to Lance. Slowly he backed away from the pods so that he could give each of them a closer look. Lance contemplated the pros and cons in his head several times, but he still couldn't decide which color to wear. He knew his goal of being ready before any of his friends was already down the drain. So, what was five more vargas of thinking it through? 

Lance jumped and let out a high pitched scream at the presence of a hand on his shoulder. When he pivoted and saw it was Keith that had made the sudden contact, his shoulders sunk. He cleared his throat and put his hands in his pockets, trying to signal to his giggling team members to forget the sound that had just been released from his mouth.

In an attempt to regain his composure Lance asked, "You guys want somethin'?"

Keith nodded, "Well, we were planning on suiting up, except you seemed to have a little problem getting your armor."

Hunk laughed. "That's an understatement. No offense, dude, but you looked like my mom trying to pick out an outfit for one of her blind-dates."

Allura raised an eyebrow. "What in the world is a 'blind-date'?"

Lance offered an amused smirk. Though, it quickly faded when he saw Keith turn away from the yellow paladin, who was now consumed with trying to explain that one doesn't need to ocularly impaired to go on a blind-date.

He watched attentively as Keith walked over to the pod with the red paladin armor inside, and opened it with the touch of a button. Lance sighed in relief.

_Well, that solves my problem._

Soon, the rest of the group took notice of Keith's action as well, and began to prepare themselves. Allura and Coran left the armory and alerted the paladins to meet in the bridge when they were finished. 

Lance walked over to the pod with his armor in it and opened it. He then proceeded to walk into one of the hidden dressing rooms behind the pods. He closed the curtain, which was made from an alien fabric, and removed his navy green jacket, his t-shirt, and his jeans. Once he had stripped down to his boxers he pulled the black under layer of the armor over his body. The material of the first layer was smooth and pliable, but Allura had assured the paladins that it came from the indestructible wool of an orthrax, whatever that was. Lance grabbed the heavy chest plate that displayed a blue version of the Voltron symbol on it. He pulled it over his head, and made sure the jet pack and shoulder pads were in place. He then fixed his hair because; priorities. He pulled the metal knee pads up over his calves, until they were snug over his knees and thighs. Next, he pulled the protective boots over his feet until the tops of the boots made a clinking noise, signaling that they were in place with the knee pads. Finally, he snapped the Altean powered belt into the place around his waist.

By the time Lance had finished getting dressed, he had worked up a decent sweat. 

_Damn. How is it that Coran's great great grandfather-or whatever-was able to build magic healing pods, but he couldn't make a machine to help me get dressed?_

He tucked his blue helmet under his right arm, and strolled to the center of the armory where Keith and Pidge were waiting.

Keith sighed and looked over his shoulder impatiently. "How does that big guy always manage to be late?"

Lance cracked his knuckles and chuckled. "Please, you should try rooming with him. I've gotten at least five detention's because Hunk couldn't find his lucky pencil," He said. Nostalgia filled the blue paladin as he thought back to when his biggest concern was making it to class on time. He constantly longed for the comfort of home, for not having the weight of the universe on his very shoulders. He missed devouring his mom's homemade enchiladas on Saturday afternoons. He missed going for a swim in the cool ocean with all of his clothes on, and then getting scolded for doing so. If Lance closed his eyes he could remember every sensation that he got when the crisp, Earth breeze kissed his skin...

He was shaken from his thoughts when Hunk instantaneously appeared behind him, and slung a heavy and armored arm around his shoulder. His friend let out a long breath. "Sorry guys, I accidentally put the top-part on backwards...three times."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "It isn't rocket science, Hunk."

Keith took off ahead of the three other paladins at a steady pace. He put his hands behind his head and called over his shoulder, "Come on, Allura is probably waiting for us."

Lance manifested a cocky smirk. "You mean, she's probably waiting for  _me_."

Pidge gave him an aggressive elbow to the gut before breaking into a jog to catch up to Keith. Lance shrugged off Hunk's lingering arm and the two began to head to the bridge as well. "You guys are just jealous." 

Beside him Hunk released a barely audible snicker. "Just keep telling yourself that, buddy."

The small group roamed the castle, making small conversations and bringing up inside jokes from the past. As their laughter echoed through the castle, Lance almost forgot the stress that had been threatening take over his mind. He had always found it funny how insignificant smiles could alter the mood of a situation completely. That was the reason his subconscious had always retreated inside the protection of fake-joy. Even though that facade took its toll on Lance when he was alone, he knew it was much more preferable then actually facing his problems.

Allura and Coran were rebooting several systems when the paladins walked into the bridge. The pair turned at the sound of the sliding door. The mechanic put his hands on his hips. "Good news, paladins. We've located a nearby planet to take shelter on."

Allura, now in her battle outfit, nodded next to him. "And as far as we are aware, it's uninhabited."

Pidge scratched her head. "Are you sure it's safe? If the planet's uninhabited that means the air might be toxic, or the temperature might be dangerously high, or-"

"The lions will keep you safe when you leave the castle," Allura interrupted. She let out a short laugh before continuing, "Although, I guess I should say _us_  now that i'll be piloting the blue lion."

Lance turned his head away at the princess' last sentence. Despite how happy the last half an hour had been for him, he still hated the new arrangements Keith had made. 

"Yeah, about that. Can't you at least _try_ to pilot the Red Lion?", Lance asked.

Keith stepped away from his friends, and walked across the bridge to Coran's control panel, where he was able to observe the planet they would be landing on. "How long until we get there?"

Coran tugged at his moustache. "It should be about 60 vargas."

Lance looked around in flabbergast. He waved both of his hands in the air when he saw that no one was fazed by how he'd just got thrown to the side, for the _second time_ that day. "Um, Hello? Yeah, it's me, Lance. I know it may come as a shock that I might actually have an idea but-"

From Coran's control panel Keith stomped his foot loud enough to make Lance shut his mouth. "I told you already, Allura won't be able to pilot Red so there's no point in trying it."

Lance didn't like Keith trying to take charge. In fact, he saw the scolding he received as a challenge. Following Keith's pattern, Lance stepped away from his friends and prepared to march to where his disputer stood. He lifted his shoulders, bringing a new presence into the room.

"Well Mr. Big Shot, maybe if you-" 

Lance was interrupted, once again, by someone grabbing his forearm and pulling him to a stop. He looked up to see the sympathetic face of Coran, who was attempting to cease the tense situation. 

Lance didn't understand. Why was it that Keith could speak against every thought Lance had, but he couldn't do the vice versa? No matter how logical something seemed to Lance, his friends and teammates were always turning him down. At night, thoughts of why his friends never stood up for him kept him awake. 

Lance saw the silent plead that was being displayed within Coran's eyes, and decided to let his-rather good-comeback remain inside his head. 

When he turned back to Keith, he saw that he wasn't even affected by the event that had just taken place. Although everyone else in the room was dead silent.

Eventually, after the taut aura of the room faded, Allura moved to her center station, and began to stroke the air as she used holographic screens. She spoke, "Now that that's settled, you four should get to your lions." She paused her movements and briefly glanced at Lance.  "Once we settle on the planet I may need help getting the Blue Lion out of the castle."

Lance fought the urge to protest once again and decided to listen to the princess. He ambled past Keith giving him one last glare before heading over to the doors that lead to the hangar of the Blue Lion. He could practically feel the shift in everyone's movements as he did so. Lance rotated his body to face them and spoke in reassurance, "Calm down guys, i'm just gonna say goodbye to her." He shrugged. "I mean, it'd be rude not to."

Lance looked to Keith and smiled innocently before turning back around and activating the doors. He heard his rival mutter, "Go ahead." He smirked to himself as he stepped onto the small glowing platform inside the elevator that he'd traveled through so many times. Before the doors could completely shut, Lance called out in a petty reply, "Just so you know, mullet, I wasn't looking for your permission."

He felt smug as the doors finally closed, and the last thing he saw was the fuming face of Keith. Lance sensed his adrenaline start to flow from the familiar sensation of the descending elevator, even though he knew he wouldn't be facing any danger. Once the doors opened to reveal a large metal tunnel, Lance swung his arms back and leaped onto the zip line that ran along tracks on the ceiling. As he flew down he was engulfed the blue light that was emitted from the walls. While he savored the feeling of his body cutting through the air, he thought about how soon the light that reminded him of his planet's sky, would be red. 

Lance raised he head and saw where the zip line ended and lead into a narrower tunnel. He arched he back and pushed his body forwards, letting go of the handle bars of the zip line. He glided right through the small tunnel, making sure to fix his body position, so that he wouldn't hit his head like he did the first time they practiced using the system. Lance landed in the pilot seat of the blue transport pod, with hard thump. He groaned and rubbed his bruising tail bone as the pod rushed through the final tunnel towards the Blue Lion. Lance glanced up as the pod ascended on a new track, and was brought up into a massive chamber where the Blue Lion resided.

He cautiously stepped out his pod, never taking his eyes off of the lion. He laughed as he looked up at the grand piece of machinery and magic. He still believed Blue's eyes followed him wherever he moved, even if its eyes were just giant yellow screens. 

As Lance approached, the lion moved in swift motions and until its large mouth was agape for him to enter. He took his time getting to his chamber inside the lion, stopping every once in a while to touch glowing pieces of metal, that he knew were made for the water. One of the reasons he felt so comfortable and connected to his lion was because it reminded him of water. Along with laughter, water had also always been an escape for Lance. Whether he was floating in the ocean, or splashing in rain puddles, the coolness of the substance never ceased to make him feel alive.

After scoping around for while, he made his way to the control room of the lion. He sat down in the chair located in the center of the small room, and held on to the armrests as the chair shot forward. Lance watched in awe as different icons and screens popped up into the air, and video footage of the chasm was shown in front of him. It still amazed him how he somehow managed to memorize the functions of every button and lever in the lion. 

Lance sighed as he grasped the navigation handles. He took a deep breathe. "Hey beautiful, how's it going?" Lance chuckled at himself when the realization settled in, that he was talking to an enormous cat. He continued, "I know this might be hard to hear but, i'm not gonna be around for a while...I'll be piloting the Red Lion."

Lance swore he felt the energy being released from the lion become more mellow. His face softened at the fact. "I know, I know, i'm sad too, but my team needs me. It can't just be about us  _all_ the time. Someone else will be piloting you from now on, and I promise to make sure she's good to you. Now, of course, she isn't as cool as me, but she's close enough." He removed his right hand from the navigation gear and placed it on the small platform under the main icon. He pet the platform and smiled gently. "I'll try not to be too jealous, if you do the same. You'll always be my number one cat. Thanks for everything, Blue."

He closed his eyes and heard the lion purr in his ears. He knew that Allura would never be able to hear that eye-opening sound. It was a communication that was sacred between him and the Blue Lion. Lance reminisced about his times fighting as one with Blue. He remembered the feeling he when he first sat down in the control room. How all of his friends were terrified of his horrific piloting and of the lion itself, but through all of their complaints, Lance had never felt more aware of his surroundings. He thought about the first time he formed the leg of Voltron, his first fight with Zarkon, and when Hunk and him faced the Baku Garden monster only weeks before. The only reason Lance hadn't been killed five times over, was because of his lion. _His_ lion. Not anyone else's. Keith, nor any other person, would ever take away the only thing that truly understood him. 

Lance stood up after caressing the smooth metal of the lion one last time. He felt the lion's aura get sadder and sadder with every step he took towards the exit. By the time he had left through the opening in Blue's mouth, it had completely shut down. He turned to look into the lion's empty eyes one last time. He whispered, "Sorry, girl. I'll be back, I swear on it."

Suddenly, he felt a buzz at the side of his helmet. He raised his hand and pressed a button to turn on his communication radio,

"Yeah?", he asked.

"Lance, where are you? I've been waiting for you in the Red Lion hangar for twenty minutes." Lance recognized the irritated voice as Keith's.

_Ugh._

That was the thought that passed through his head most of the time when he was forced to listen to the nagging voice of the red paladin. He rolled his eyes as if he could be seen. "Okay, okay, i'm coming. Jeez. No need to get your mullet in a twist." 

Lance ran through the bay doors and into the center corridor, he made a slight left turn and continued to the hangar of the Red Lion. He gave himself a minute to catch his breathe at the front of the bay doors, then pressed his hand against the lock pad. He made sure his breathing was even as he stepped into the hangar. He didn't want Keith thinking he was in any hurry .

Lance wasn't surprised to see his rival standing arms crossed at the other side of the door, waiting for him. He looked neither happy nor unhappy as Lance faced him with a sheepish smile, just tired. He blew his barely tamable hair out his face and turned to walk towards the lion. Lance was left staring at his back in confusion as his impatient footsteps filled the chasm.

Usually, the pair greeted each other with a snarky remark. Now, though, Keith just seemed...neutral. Lance guessed it was due to their previous arguments being a bit more edgy and genuine. 

Once Keith disappeared behind the front of the Red Lion and became nothing more than a faded shadow, Lance jogged to catch up. Although, not without tripping over his loose shoe strap several times. He bent down next to where Keith was and fixed his armored boot. He looked up at the towering lion before standing once again. From that angle, Lance thought the Red Lion looked angry, like it was preparing to bite his head off. Which, Lance supposed it was, he guessed it wasn't too happy that his pilot was abandoning it, he would feel the same way.

When he stood up again Lance felt an uncomfortable bump at the back of his ankle. He glanced down and saw that one of the straps had found their way into the back of his boot.

_Stupid space shoes._

He propped his elbow on Keith's shoulder and reached down to his foot to remove the strap from the inside of his boot. The second he finished, Keith shoved him off, making a strange noise under his breath. Lance turned his head and studied Keith. His eyebrows were furrowed and his nose was all scrunched up. It made him look like a pug. Lance giggled. "I must have really ticked you off, huh?"

Keith met his proud smile with a glare before turning his head away. "Not really." 

Lance knew he was lying by the way his mouth contorted in a way that shouldn't humanly be possible. Though, Lance knew that Keith technically wasn't all human. He thought it was strange, having a Galra on their team. He figured it didn't really change much, Keith would always be his annoying Keith-self. Lance wanted to ask the red paladin about his heritage, but he knew this wasn't the right time, seeing as both of the boys were still mad at each other.

The chamber got quiet, very fast. It wasn't normal for the two of them to be alone together, the only time that really happened was when they were on a mission. Keith cleared his throat. "Well, this is Red."

Lance put his hands together and rocked on his heels. "Not as nice as Blue, but I guess he'll do."

" _She_ ", Keith corrected him.

"What?"

Keith started tapping his foot. His next few sentences were a combination of mumbles. "I call it a she, alright?"

"Oh." Lance didn't really know what to say. He'd never heard Keith call his lion  _anything_ before. He wondered if he had as good a connection as Lance had with his Blue.

"Anyway," Keith began. "She's really fast, so you have to be careful of your surroundings or you'll run into something. Especially with  _your_ piloting skills."

Lance threw his head back. "Very funny," he said sarcasm dripping from his words.

Keith ignored his comment. "And you have to be headstrong, or she won't listen to you. Also try to act more on instinct, if you take too long to think about something your bond will weaken, and she won't be as strong. Now I gotta get to Shiro's lion and try to get him going, so just make sure to-"

"Chill out, I got this." Lance assured him, showing a little more confidence than what he was actually feeling. 

Keith looked his way and examined him for a few moments. He shrugged. "Whatever you say." 

He turned and walked out of the hangar without saying another word, leaving Lance alone with the intimidating Red Lion. Lance let out a small laugh with no amusement behind it. "Uh-hi?", He called to the un-moving lion. Speaking to Keith's lion was way different than speaking with his lion. For starters, it felt way too one sided. It was like he was speaking, and wasn't really being heard. Lance wasn't sure how he'd made the connection from those two words that he'd said to the Red Lion, but he knew that the next few days of his life would  _not_ be fun.

He cautiously took a step forward. He made sure to speak slowly and clearly while he introduced himself, "My names Lance. Looks like i'm gonna be your buddy for a while." 

Once again, the lion didn't budge. Lance examined the large beast, searching for a flinch of a paw, or a flick of its tail. He got nothing.

_Okay, then. Let's try something else._

Lance seductively removed his helmet, running a hand through his hair as he did so. As he sashayed back and forth in front of the lion tauntingly. He spoke, purposely lowering his voice a few octaves, "Playing hard to get get, huh? I can roll with that. But, I would like it  _much_ more if you could bring your pretty little head down here, so I can pilot you." He paused to snap his fingers and transform his hands into finger guns, pointing at the lion. He winked. "By the way, Rosie-can I call you 'Rosie'?-I have always been a cat person." 

As Lance raised his head to look at the large machine, he  _prayed_ that he would see some sign of life. If his flirting wasn't the powerful, headstrong, attitude the lion was looking for, then Lance wouldn't know what was.

Nonetheless, Red looked as dead as ever. Lance groaned and kicked the air, probably pretending it was Keith's head. "This is stupid!", he shouted. Lance crossed his arms and tapped his left foot, staring straight into the eyes of the thing that was giving him so much trouble. He let out a small growl as he did so. 

He definitely saw why Keith had been paired with the Red Lion. Both were stubborn as shit, and refused to listen to anyone but themselves. Also, Lance couldn't stand either of them. He laughed as he remembered that when the paladins had first been asigned to their lions, Lance had secretly wanted to pilot Red. Now, the only thing is he wanted was to get away from the annoying thing. 

Feeling defeated, Lance plopped down onto the cold floor. He pulled his knees to his chest, and rested his chin in the crevice between them. He was trying to think of a different way to approach the situation. After several painfully quiet minutes of contemplating, Lance decided to quit.

_You know what? I'm not doing this. Screw Keith's plan, and screw his lion. Hasta la later._

He dramatically threw his hands onto the floor, and hoisted himself up. He didn't care that he would be called a 'quitter', he didn't care that his team would be ashamed of him. It was too hard, and its not like he'd been excited to pilot the Red Lion anyway. He turned on his heel angrily and began to storm out of the room while throwing his helmet back on his head. Before he could reach the door, he turned around and glared at the back of the lion. He shouted across the large chamber, "You're not funny you know!"

Apparently, the lion had other thoughts on that matter, because it chose that moment to come alive. As Lance faced the bay doors once more, he heard a loud roar, and he could've swore it sounded like a laugh. Quickly, he pivoted and found himself facing the open mouth of the Red Lion. 

His face lit up like a lightbulb. "Awe, yeah! Now we're shaking."

He ran onto the glowing ramp of the lion's mouth, for fear it would shut on him and go back to the same comatose state it had previously been in. 

The brightness inside of the lion hurt Lance's vision. He felt his dark blue eye's dilate from the luminescent metals that surrounded him. He knew the red light would take some getting used to, considering how comfortable and safe he felt when looking at the cool blue color that was produced by the Blue Lion. He brought the heels of his hands to his forehead and placed them on his temple, like a shield. 

He scoped around, noticing the differences between the Red and Blue Lions. Some he liked, and some he didn't. For example, Lance was strangely drawn to the curves of the inside of Keith's lion, how they glided at a perfect angle, while in the Blue Lion, every platform was broken up in cubic shapes. However, the material that the Red Lion was made of was rigid and rough against Lance's exfoliated skin.

He stopped when he made it into the control room at the head of the lion. He glanced around, realizing that Keith had been greeted numerous times by all of the sensations that Lance had taken note of. He wondered if his rival was analyzing Shiro's lion at that very moment. 

He walked to the front of the chair, drawing in a deep breathe before leaning back to sit. But before his rear could make it into the chair, the Red Lion shook its head with great vigor, and Lance was sent flying face-first into one of the side screens. After a brutal landing on the floor of the control room, Lance whined in pain. When he sat up, he wasn't surprised to see everything around him tilting at a fast pace. He lifted his hand to his nose, and widened his eyes once he saw the dark red substance that came from it.

When Lance got his bearings he slowly lifted himself onto the chair. He was fuming with irritation. His head hurt, and everything smelled like copper. His situation wasn't made any better by the sound of the lion releasing a malicious hum from the back of its throat. 

Lance was too exhausted to make a comeback, though he was very tempted to summon his bayard and go crazy on every screen and button in the control room. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. As soon as he began to drift off into a sweet slumber, he felt a heavy buzzing at the side of his head. He raised his tired arm and pushed the button on his helmet, to turn on the radio. 

" _What_ _?_ ", Lance asked whoever was on the other side of the line, a harsh tone lacing his words.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty." Hunk answered. "Coran just announced that we're about to land." 

Sure enough, as soon as the yellow paladin informed his sleepy friend of their estimated time of arrival, Lance felt the castle start to ebb down into the atmosphere of a planet. He sat up, wiping the tiredness from his eyes, and pressed the center icon of the Red Lion. Panels and buttons that Lance had never seen before popped up in front of him, and the screens that lined the room turned on to reveal the lion's hangar. 

A few minutes later, he heard the sound of the dome at the top of the hanger, slowly slide open. Lance knew it was time for him to fly. Gently, he placed his hands on the navigation handles and eased them forward. Slowly, the Red Lion stood up, and Lance felt its paw-jets lift them up into the air. "Okay, I think i'm getting the hang of this."

Lance grinned as he leaned forward to press another button on the right panel. He realized too late that he'd made a mistake. In an instant, Red was blasted into the air hitting the ceiling next to the exit. The control room shook visibly, and the lion fell. The blue paladin braced himself as he prepared for impact. Before the lion hit the ground, it released powerful jets from the back off its body and began to ascend once again. 

The Red Lion flew itself through the dome and into the atmosphere of the strange new planet. The area they had landed on was flat and bare, but not in a way that was dry or malnourished. The sandy ground looked almost damp, as if it were alive. It reminded Lance of grass. He wondered if the new plain he was staring at would feel as comforting beneath his toes as grass was.

He moved one of the navigation levers so that Red was looking up at the planet's sun. Lance stared in slight awe at the strange burgundy glow of the bright star. 

"Okay." Lance steadied himself. "Nothing will go wrong."

He pressed an icon that seemed sort of familiar to him, in hopes that he could experience a calm descent instead of plummeting to the ground at 30 miles an hour. 

Immediately after he pressed the icon Lance flew back in his seat, one of his hand was held out in front of him fingers crossed, and the other was latching onto the armrest with a death-grip.

Finally, Lance's luck with his new lion was making a turn for the better. When he released his tight grip on the chair, he realized that he was not, in fact, dead. He grinned to himself. "Yeah, that's the stuff!" Lance stood up dancing in place to the sweet echo of his hollars resonating throughout the lion.

As his excitement came to a close, Lance looked around and saw that most of his friends had landed a few yards away from him. At first he wondered why they were so quiet, but then he remembered he had turned his helmet off. He pressed his finger to the back of his helmet and turned on his radio.

He heard the end of a statement from Pidge, but he couldn't understand what she had said. 

The next person who spoke through the radio was Hunk. "Woah guys, i'm not the last one out for once!", He laughed. "I think this deserves a celebration. I'm thinking space jelly donuts, how about it?"

Pidge ignored his last hunger-filled comment. "Where is Allura, anyway?"

Lance pressed a hand to his chin, and smirked. Of course his Blue wouldn't accept someone else as its pilot. "I _told you_ this wouldn't work. Only someone with my great personality could ever-"

His slightly narcissistic remark was cut short by the sound of the princess yelling through the communicator. Both Keith and Coran's voices could also be heard. Lance's eardrums hurt from the loud noises that were blasting into his ears.

"Allura, what happened?", Coran asked, looking for some assurance that she was alright.

"Princess! Are you okay?", Keith shouted in unison with Coran.

As soon as their words of concern were announced, the yelling stopped and was replaced by laughter.

The Blue Lion flew out from the top of the castle and landed next to its mechanical brethren. 

"Sorry I worried you. I've just never flowed one of the lions before. It's quite exciting.", Allura spoke through her eatings, and her bright smile could practically be heard.

Coran blew out a sigh of relief. Lance would've done the same, the princess' shouts had given him his fair share of fright as well, but he was too shocked to make any noise.

He knew had told his lion to trust Allura, but he was slightly hurt that the two had connected so easily. It had taken weeks for him to fully understand the thrill of piloting his lion, and here Allura was, laughing like she had been inside of Blue hundreds of times. 

Lance knew he shouldn't of been jealous, but he couldn't help it. The Red Lion gave him trouble even before it came to life. It made him forget how to fly, and he was one of the best fighter pilots in his class. He moved Red so that it was facing the Black Lion. As he looked at it, he saw that Keith wasn't having any problems either. The tail of the lion was swishing back and forth, ready to begin training. 

As the paladins talked on the communications radio, they all seemed so comfortable. It made Lance feel stiff, like he was missing out on something.

 _Why am I so different from them?_  

Lance knew how it felt to be so comfortable inside one of lions. However, as he listened to the talkative voices of his friends, he completely forgot the sensation that came with being a part of Voltron. 

“Lance, how’s my lion?” Keith sounded genuinely curious as to what Lance’s answer would be.

The blue paladin rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Just peachy.” He lined his words with sarcasm.

After moments of silence, Lance thought that maybe he turned his radio off. As he moved to check the button on the side of his helmet he got an almost snarky response from Keith. “Sorry, what was that?”

Lance didn’t know if his rival was belittling him, or if he truly hadn’t understood what he’d said. He hoped it was the latter option. Either way, Lance wasn’t planning on letting his team know how much he’d struggled getting the cooperation of the Red Lion. They’d probably just think he was overreacting anyway, seeing as he was the only one to object Keith’s leadership.

Lance plastered a profound smile on his face. His voice sounded higher the second time he spoke. “No need to worry. Me and Red are like this.” He crossed his pointer finger and his middle finger to show how ‘close’ he and the lion were. Lance stopped when he realized that no one could see him.

It was Hunk who piped up next. “You know no one can see you, right buddy?”

Lance's shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I got that,” he said, putting emphasis on the ‘t’ as he normally did when he was flustered.

Allura cleared her throat. “Good. Now that we are all sorted out, we can stop wasting time and start forming Voltron.” She paused for a few moments, as if she were waiting for something. “Keith, are you ready?”

The red paladin swallowed loudly enough that it could be heard over the radio. The sound kind of grossed Lance out. When he replied to Allura’s question, he sounded sure of himself. It was like Keith had a new head on his shoulders. “Yes. You can’t be nervous. Don’t forget, we’ve done this before. We are still a team. Just because there’s been a few changes doesn’t mean that we aren’t bonded. If we work together, we’ll win together.”

The words of encouragement sounded strange coming from Keith’s mouth instead of Shiro’s. Lance wasn’t sure whether he liked the change or not, but he went with it.

In unison, the other paladins and Allura exclaimed, showing they were ready follow Keith’s order.

Lance still despised the idea of having Keith act as the leader. As much as he knew his team needed him, he knew he would never get passed the difficulty of following to the orders of his rival. The idea of _Keith_ coming up to him after practice and patting him on the back, made him want to puke. Lance would have to go against what he believed if he was ever to form a bond with his new, rearranged team.

In an instant, the Black Lion was hovering in the air as Keith spoke over the intercom. “Let’s do this.”

Following Keith’s example Pidge, Allura, and Hunk each lifted their lions into the air with ease. Lance took his time, checking to make sure he hit the same icon that he had before. Reluctantly, he pushed on it and the Red Lion began to fly. He grabbed the navigation handles and pushed the forward. Slowly, the lion moved forward, swerving left and right as Lance got a feel for the controls. Once he got the hang of it he sped up, catching up to his friends.

The five lions flew in formation, and no one made a sound, each concentrating on connecting with their lion. The first three attempts of forming Voltron were unsuccessful. Lance kept trying to move into Allura’s position out of habit, which left Allura lost and distraught. Keith, being used to the speed of the Red Lion, was either falling behind his teammates, or flying seven miles ahead of them. Pidge and Hunk were fine for the most part. Except every time someone made a mistake Pidge would whine in annoyance and protest, and Hunk would get anxious and try to call it a day.

It didn’t help that Coran was trying to coach them from the sidelines. Each of the paladins would groan at Coran's many comments of ‘enthusiasm’. However, the one time Coran screamed at the top of his lungs, “GIVE ME BACK MY SANDWICH, PLATT!”, just left them all confused.

They stopped to take a break after almost two hours of trying. Keith had refused to let any of them go inside of the castle to rest, for fear that Hunk would hibernate in the kitchen and never return.

The red paladin spoke over the intercom, “Why isn’t this working. We were able to form Voltron on the spot just days ago.” His voice had gained a harsh edge to it that just made Lance even more exhausted than he already was.

He clicked his tongue. “Calm down, hot head, we’re trying here. Can’t we just go inside, I need to stretch my legs.”

Lance received an emotionless “No,” from Keith.

Hunk gasped at the response. “Thats harsh, Keith. You gotta let a man stretch his legs, it’s code.”

“I’m tired. I’m too old for this,” Pidge said, though half of her sentence was mixed with a yawn.

Lance scoffed at her words and put his head in his hands. “You’re the youngest one on the team, Pidge.”

Suddenly, the green paladin sounded very awake, “So what?

After not speaking for several minutes, Allura took a deep breathe and spoke up in a plead. “Why don’t we try it one more time, and if it doesn’t work we go inside. But everyone has to put everything they have into this.”

Lance nodded, he sensed that everyone else nodded as well.

Once more, each of the Voltron lions rose into the air. Keith spoke into the communicator, “No mistakes, we’ve got this.”

The Black Lion soared ahead, flying at an almost normal speed. Next, the Red and Green lions flew a little bit under it. Though, it took Lance a moment to remember what lion he was in, he eventually found his place in the formation. Finally the Yellow and Blue lions soared beneath the other voltron members.

Lance closed his eyes, trying as hard as he could to connect with the Red Lion. He could feel it fighting against him. He gripped the navigation handles until his knuckles turned white and worked himself into the lion’s mind. He began to think that they might actually form Voltron.

Suddenly, Lance heard gears moving, and metal sliding against metal. It was like music to his hears. He opened his eyes and saw that the panels in front of him had changed. He smiled. The Red Lion was becoming an arm. Soon, Lance felt the lion being drawn to the Black Lion, which he guessed was transforming as well. Lance felt a new emotion come over him as the giant beast locked into place. It was different from the other times his team had formed Voltron. The bond wasn’t as strong or as welcoming, but it was there.

It took Lance a few minutes to adjust to being so high up, considering he was used to being on the ground, holding up the body of Voltron.

Everyone was silent, Lance guessed they were all too surprised that they had actually done it. That was, until Hunk whooped for joy and pretty much broke the sound barrier. His yell was loud enough to burst Lance’s eardrums, he was surprised he wasn’t deaf by the time his friend had finished.

“I. Can’t. Believe. It.” Hunk said taking in deep breaths between every word.

Keith laughed, the edge to his voice had vanished. “Great job, team. Now, let’s try out some things. Allura, Hunk, use the blasters.”

It took Allura a little longer than Hunk to figure out which icon would allow the Blue Lion to use its blaster, which threw them off balance causing them to fall. The second try, however, allowed Voltron to lift into the air.

Lance pulled on his navigation handles which pushed his lion backwards, causing them to shoot forward.

He could hear the wind cutting and shaping around the grand beast. He liked how being the arm let him see more. The geography of the planet they were on was rushing past at speeds so fast that Lance’s head started to get dizzy, but he was enjoying it. He found a new confidence in their make-shift team, and he figured that he could he could work with being in a new lion.

Keith had Voltron zoom back and forth across the vast desert-like plain more times than Lance could count. They flipped through the air swiftly, each paladin (and princess) giving their all into making sharp turns and quick dives.

Things were going great. Coran was wonderstruck as he gave the team compliments every three ticks. Not to mention, Lance was having a blast.

However, their practice, for Lance at least, took a turn for the worse when Keith asked to form sword.

They had stopped flying and were standing still, taking in the power they had just unleashed, when Keith suggested they test out their weapons. First, Hunk plugged his bayard into the slot of his control panel with a grunt, while Lance pressed the icons in front of him so that the Red Lion could turn to hold the shoulder cannon. Hunk pushed forward on his navigation handles causing the cannon to fire in one giant beam of energy.

Keith let out a relieved sigh over the intercom. “Good. Now, Lance form sword, and Pidge give us that shield.”

The blue paladin could tell Pidge had no problem forming the shield, because in an instant the protective weapon was being held out in front of the Green Lion, ready to accept a heavy impact. Lance, though, did not have as easy of a time forming the sword.

“Uh-Coran?”, Lance spoke into his helmet. “Will I even be able to form the sword with my bayard?”

Coran hummed for a short moment before answering. “This has never really happened before, but there should be no reason for it not to work. Unless, of course, the lion doesn’t like you.” He laughed at his humor after the last sentence.

“Well, here goes nothing.” Lance raised his hand to turn off his radio. He wanted to be able to concentrate on his barely-existent bond with the Red Lion. It was rare for Lance to approach something seriously, but when he did it was with great resolve. He moved his hand down by his thigh, and summoned his bayard. The right control panel began to rise, offering a slot. He took a few shaky breaths before clenching his jaw and slamming his bayard into the panel.

Instead of an immense feeling of strength and connectivity, Lance felt _pain_. As soon as his bayard hit the slot, a charge of red lightning ran up Lance’s right arm.

The feeling was indescribable. His arm felt like it was on fire, but Lance was also afraid that it would freeze off. Just the shock of the attack made his vision go blurry. He let out a wretched scream. He didn’t even know he could make a sound that horrifying. He let go of his bayard and made a rapid grab for his upper arm. Lance winced at the touch, even through the thick armor he had on.

He sat there for a few minutes staring at the floor of the control room. When he looked up, he saw that his bayard could indeed form the sword. The bright, sharp weapon was glistening right outside his window. Lance would’ve been happy about it if wasn’t in so much pain. But it left him confused. He had assumed that he received the shock because he tried to used the wrong bayard, but that assumption had been proved incorrect.

Suddenly, he heard the same malevolent noise that he heard the first time he had been hurt inside of the Red Lion, only hours before. Lance’s eyes widened and he sat up in his chair. He couldn’t believe it. The lion had done it _on purpose_. But why? Was it because of his rivalry with Keith? Or maybe the Red Lion was just upset because its paladin had abandoned it.

Whatever the case, Lance was _pissed_. It wasn’t fair that he got attacked for doing nothing wrong, while his friends’ spirits were constantly lifted.

Still trying to get a hold of himself, Lance pressed the button to the intercom with his left hand instead of his right. Boy, was he glad that he'd shut his helmet off. As much as the attack had hurt, letting his teammates know that he couldn't control the Red Lion would have been way more painful. To his pride, at least.

When the communicator came back to life, the sound of several voices calling Lance's name filled his ears. He shook off the moment of relapse he had just suffered through, and tried to remain composed. "I'm here, guys. That was pretty cool, right?" 

"Don't scare me like that, Lance, I thought the Red Lion ate you or something," Hunk called to Lance over the radio, the obvious worry fading from his voice.

Lance let out an unamused laugh.

_You have no idea._

After that, Keith ordered the team practice a few mighty swings, and work out some quirks dealing with Voltron's locomotion. When the strange, burgundy sun of the planet began to set, he finally allowed for some rest. 

The lions separated and flew into different areas of the castle, landing in their bays. Once Lance piloted the Red Lion safely into its hangar, he threw off his helmet and let it clang against the floor. He let out a miserable whine that he'd been holding in, and coddled his shoulder which still writhed in pain. He sat staring of into space for several minutes before he felt the lion shift and bend down, opening its mouth to the floor. 

Lance could take a hint. He stood up, almost falling over due to how long he'd been sitting, and grumbled under his breath. The blue paladin picked up his helmet and began to storm through the body of the lion. 

When he reached the ramp that led to the floor of the hangar, he paused. Lance turned and kicked one Red's metal teeth as if it were a soccer ball. The harsh contact made his foot ache, but he didn't care. 

Lance's experience with Keith's lion gave him a new reason to hate the color red. The instant he exited the lion, it turned up its nose, moving until it was stuck in the same lifeless state it had been in earlier that day. The sight gave Lance deja vu.

He looked up at the large beast, standing on the ground under its chin. He moved to cross his arms but stopped when he felt a jarring throb run through his arm. Undeterred, he gave the Red Lion a death stare as he spoke, “Um, what’re you doing? We’re not done here! What the hell was that?”

Lance didn’t pause to check to see if the lion moved, he knew it wouldn’t and did not feel like waiting around for some kind of response. “Look, I get it, you don’t like me. But that doesn’t mean you can go all thunderbolt on me whenever I try to do something. I didn’t ask to be put in this situation, your precious little Keith put me here whether you like it or not.”

He rubbed his temple, trying to think of a way to get through to the lion. “You’re mad, i’m mad too. But the team needs up to get along. Besides, the quicker we kick ass and save Shiro, the the sooner it’ll be until i’m piloting Blue, and you’re protecting mullet man. Okay?”

Not surprisingly, Lance didn’t get an answer. However, he did feel the atmosphere of the room get a little less tense. Though he wasn’t sure if he was just imagining it or not. He then realized that if Red wanted too, it could of easily raised its paw and squashed him like a bug, but it didn’t, and Lance saw that as an improvement.

Feeling satisfied, he walked around the lion to the bay doors. They opened, and Lance was greeted by Pidge and Allura who had been talking about how the green paladin planned to move the power from the teladuv into the Blue Lion. Lance hoped that the power wouldn’t damage his lion, but seeing as it had fought hundreds of Galra fleets and barely gained a scratch, he assumed it would fine.

On the way to his room, Lance took a detour to the kitchen to grab some leftovers from the lunch Hunk had made, and then stopped by his friend’s room to praise him for his cooking. After saying a final goodnight, Lance decided to head to his room to sleep. He walked down the hallway, stopping at the second the last door. He put his hand on the keypad and activated the sliding doors. He took a dramatic step into his room, basking in the feeling of comfort.

His room was nothing special, the walls were bare and too close to each other for Lance’s liking. He had a small closet at the far end of his room where he kept his clothes, pajamas, and slippers. Coran had gifted him with a mirror which he put a few feet away from it, along with a small table. On the table were different alien creams and moisturizers which did wonders for his skin. Near the room’s entrance was a twin sized bed with blue and black comforters. Next to it was a laundry shoot where he could send his armor to be cleaned and put back into its holding pod.

Lance grabbed his blue, silky pajamas along with his Blue Lion slippers, and placed them on his bed. He removed the top layer of his armor with ease, unclipping his belt and sliding his knee pads down his legs. After he slid the used protective wear down the shoot, he began to work on the under layer.

Once his bare chest was exposed to the air, however, Lance winced and grabbed his shoulder.

_It’s still doing that?_

After slipping into his pajama pants and slippers, he moved to the mirror to see if there was any marks on his arm. Lance’s eyes widened when he gazed into the reflective object. At first, he thought maybe the mirror was broken, or he wasn’t seeing right, but he knew what he was looking at was real from the pain he received when he touched his arm.

The smooth tan skin that covered his body was unrecognizable. His upper arm and shoulder were now red and sliced. Blisters were covering almost every part of his skin in that area, it looked like his body was literally cracked. Lance had _never_ seen a bruise like the one he’d acquired in health class. He figured that was because he had gotten it from a giant robot cat, but still, it was gruesome.

He examined his injury for several minutes before letting out a yawn, and deciding to call it a night. He ignored the pajama shirt that was still on his mattress for fear of it rubbing against his skin in his sleep. He climbed into bed and under the covers making sure to lay his good side.

Lance hadn’t planned on telling his friends about the attack, but seeing as how severe his damage was, he figured he might have to.

He sat staring at the wall next to him for what felt like hours, his mind at war with itself. Eventually he came to a decision.

_No._

Lance would shake off the injury. It would only last a couple of days anyway, right? Lance learned first aid at the Garrison and knew how to bandage bad bruises and cuts. He would just have to improvise, and keep quiet about it. He didn’t want to worry his team, or seem like more of a deadweight than he already was.

Once he came to his conclusion, Lance’s mind stopped arguing with itself and finally let him rest. Instantly, Lance was able to close his eyes and drift off into a deep, painless sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!  
> I was going to have this chapter have more action, but I really wanted to bring out how Lance was feeling, and his bond with his lion. Also, it turned out to be really long, which I hope is a good thing.  
> This story's action, for the most part, will be a slow burn. But i'm really happy with how its turning out.  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Your Fault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!! Thanks so much for reading.
> 
> I just want to make it clear that Pidge stumbling because of Hunk leaning on her is in no way meant to be a joke about his weight. Pidge is a small (but tough) person and I bet she'd have trouble holding up any of the paladins. I'm only noting this because I know a lot of people are upset about Hunk's character development and how many food jokes he was given. I love Hunk, Pidge and all of the other characters and would never do anything to make them seem less than they are.
> 
> Okay i've talked too much, i'll let you guys read the chapter now. I hope you enjoy it!

A week passed where Lance was stuck in a loophole of boredom.

He'd expected his life to be ceaselessly eventful after getting Voltron back up on its feet, which it was at first, but after days of non-stop practicing and preparing, Lance started to get restless.

Everyday he was subjected to the same routine. He would wake up, bandage his arm, practice, rest. The only diversity in the program the team adopted was what they ate during meals. That, and the  _many_ different topics that Keith and Lance fought over. 

Some how the pair managed to turn every minuscule thing they disagreed on in an overblown argument. It had started out with Lance making criticizing side comments about the red paladins' leadership, and receiving back lash for it. By the end of the week, the boys would be at each others throats for holding a fork the wrong way. Lance knew he was being melodramatic, but every time his eyes met Keith's he noticed something that just didn't sit right with him and got angry. Its not that he thought Keith was an enemy, he just felt himself losing trust in his teammate, for reasons he still wasn't sure of.

The rest of his team members noticed the shift as well. The paladins would always respect and connect with each other, but there were times where timidness flooded their surroundings. The awkward clearing of throats was heard at least eight times a day in the castle. 

The stress of Lance's wound was also getting to his head. His first-aid skills were not as helpful as he thought they were. Every morning he was forced to wake up an hour earlier than he friends just to wrap his wound. With one arm, he'd toss the roll of bandage over his shoulder, hoping to cover the right place. Numerous times he was tempted to ask Hunk, who had been at the top of their health class, to come help him. Lance's palms had several nail marks, from when he had to prevent himself from flinching due to his poorly wrapped bandage chaffing his injury. It had been a tough week for Lance, his cheeks constantly ached from how much he had to compel himself to smile.

It wasn't all bad though, despite the difficulty of caring for the wound, it did get better. Lance could move his right arm much easier than when he had first acquired the injury, and the pain wasn't as wretched either. Lance thought he and Red were getting along a lot better. He hadn't received any more shocks since the first one, and Red no one longer wished to bring malice to its cool new pilot, which was a plus. After a while, he learned to form sword without shrieking like a child whenever he plugged his bayard into the lion.

He noticed that he wasn't the only one who struggled. When the team wasn't practicing, Pidge was working on transferring the teladuv power into the Blue Lion. Whenever Lance stopped by the hangar of the lion, he'd see the green paladin practically pulling her hair out over algorithms and equations. Many times he had tried to settle her nerves with a joke, but his efforts were turned away quickly. Though it hurt him to see his friend so unstable, he knew Pidge would be able to figure it out, she _was_ the team genius after all.

As it turns out, Hunk's a stress-cleaner. Every moment of peace he had, he spent it literally dragging Coran around the castle looking for any speck of dirt in sight. It was like Hunk developed a germ detector. There was one time after practice where Lance was hit in the face with a sponge. He'd received numerous apologies from Coran later on once he escaped his captor's grasp.

Keith trained like always did. As soon as the Black Lion was calmly in its bay, he would walk purposefully to the training deck, barely making eye contact with any of his friends. 

Despite all of the other things happening in the castle, the person with the strangest behavior was Allura. It wasn't what she did that was strange, it was what she _didn't_ do. She piloted Blue just fine, and talked to the paladins calmly and casually, but she wasn't acting like the take-charge girl that she was, and that bothered Lance. Normally, if Keith and Lance were fighting she would try to support both of them, and try to find an agreement. However, after Shiro's disappearance she kept her distance. Allura didn't seem worried or stressed, but she still seemed...different.

The only change in behavior came when the princess called for a meeting in the bridge. Lance had been in the bathroom trying, and failing, to properly bandage his wound. With a groan he ripped the wrapping from the roll with his teeth, and tugged his shirt and jacket on sloppily. With a few backwards rolls of his shoulder he opened the sliding doors, and was greeted by a rush of air that came from Allura speed walking down the hallway in her battle suit.

She didn't seem to notice Lance, and if she did, she didn't care for his presence. Lance raised his eyebrow as he leaned out of the doorway, staring at the corridor Allura turned down moments before. Instead of heading to the armory like normal, he set off in the direction the princess had taken to the sleeping quarters. He strolled a few paces before turning left and heading down another hallway towards the silhouette of Allura.

She didn't turn as Lances stepped towards her. She had a finger pressed to her lips and a strange device in her other hand that almost looked like a megaphone. 

He surreptitiously crept along the side wall and sneaked up behind her. He leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear. He was barely able to get out the 'w' in 'what' before getting smacked in the face with the megaphone and scaring Allura half to death. 

Lance fell to the ground and put his hands up in surrender as he faced the princess who was holding her device like a sword. When she saw who she was up against she visibly relaxed.

Allura lowered her megaphone. "Lance? What are you doing up?"

"Well-uh-you know what they say, the early bird catches the worm." Lance laughed and rubbed his assaulted cheek. "What are you doing by my room?"

Allura's crystal eyes dimmed and then brightened up again, for a second she seemed confused like she didn't know what Lance was talking about. The inquisitive look on her face disappeared once she realized where she was.

_She has got to snap out of it_

Lance knew something was off with the princess. It was something he had meant to bring up to his team but never had the chance to. He hoped the others noticed how uncomfortable Allura had been the past few weeks. To him, Allura looked like she was constantly trying to hide something. Lance wasn't sure what she wanted to cover, but he guessed it was something big.

Allura held out the object in her hand, showing it to Lance. It had a glowing spiral handle leading to a wide speaker head. Lance thought it kind of looked like a flower.

She turned back to the bedrooms and said, "I was about to make an announcement."

Lance stood and waiting for Allura to announce whatever it was she wanted to announce. She didn't. All she did was stand in the eerily quiet hall.

Lance scratched the back of his head with his good arm and stepped next to her. "So..."

Allura flinched and immediately started turning a slight shade of pink. "Oh, right," she laughed nervously. She raised her device to her mouth and pressed a hidden button on the handle. She shouted domineeringly, "Paladins, wake up! Meeting in the bridge in twenty vargas!"

The instant she started yelling Lance felt himself physically be blown away. He covered his ears ignoring the slight flare of pain in his shoulder, and squeezed his eyes shut. The deafening volume of the speaker left him shocked, his ears ringing. 

He wasn't the only one who felt that way, for when the princess' heavily accented voice resonated through the hall he perceived a hard thump from Hunk's room. Lance knew the big guy got startled easily and could only dream of what Allura's rude awakening did to him.

Lance had never missed the castle'a sirens so much.

When Allura finished her spiel she lowered the megaphone from her mouth. Lance opened his mouth a few times to pop his ears before speaking, "What _is_ that thing?"

Allura turned to him. "A volumer," she said, emphasizing the 'u'. She continued to explain, "It makes my voice more evident." 

As she and Lance conversed Pidge, Hunk, and Keith emerged from their rooms. Pidge was tiredly fixing her glasses as she walked out into the hall, and Hunk stumbled out of the doorway in a dazed state. Both of the paladins were in their pajamas. Keith, on the other hand, bolted out of his room in a stealthy jump.

He was wearing a full set of day-time clothes, his jacket slightly crooked on his body.

_Does that boy ever change?_

His hair was slightly poofy and his skin looked extremely dry. Lance reminded himself to show Keith some moisturizing routines when their feud was over. Slowly each of Lance's friends made their way to him and Allura.

Hunk rubbed his eyes and moved to lean on Pidge, who almost collapsed under his weight. He yawned dramatically and looked at Allura with half lidded eyes. "I-I can't hear anything. Can you guys hear me? 'Cause I can't hear me." 

Pidge shifted away from the dog-tired boy. "Princess, that was a little loud."

Lance glanced at her with widened eyes. " _A little_ _?_ "

Allura looked at her volumer and re-examined it. She spoke, her voice intrigued, "I guess your human ears are more delicate than mine.

"Why didn't you just use the loud speaker? And we're holding a meeting? Why?", Keith asked the princess.

She nodded."I was on my way to the kitchen so I figured i'd come greet you myself. Coran and I will explain everything later."

With that Allura turned on her heels and walked back down the hall. 

Lance stretched his back and smirked at Keith. "So, I guess we're skipping practice today?"

Keith scowled at him. "Sure, it's not like you do much during them, anyway," His voice had a negative sarcasm to it that made it sound jarring.

Lance raised his eyebrows at him. The red paladin had touched on a sensitive subject, even if he didn't realize it.

Keith sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Sorry, I...just forget it." He maneuvered his way past Hunk and Pidge and took off after Allura. The other paladins were left in his wake, staring at the path their friend had just taken.

Pidge cleared her throat as she tugged on the ends of her choppy hair. "I don't think today is a very good day to push him, Lance."

Lance didn't move as his friend addressed him. He was kind of disappointed. Keith had always put effort into their arguments. Never before had he simply told to Lance to "just forget it". Although he usually put on a dark and edgy cover, there was always an unlit fire within him. That was why Lance enjoyed teasing him, to see that spark. Now though, he didn't see a single trace of that fire. Keith's words felt perverse, but they also felt genuine.

"Dude?", Hunk called.

Lance blinked. Shaking off his thoughts, he broke into a stride and motioned for his friends to follow by waving his hand. He slid his hands in his pockets as he reassured his friends. "Keith'll be fine, trust me. Come on, breakfast isn't gonna make itself." 

Pidge and Hunk met each others gaze and shrugged before joining their confident friend. The three of them made their way to the kitchen and each grabbed a bowl of food goo, which Hunk insisted on drenching in Altean syrup. 

The trio separated after eating their quick meal so that Hunk and Pidge could change into their everyday clothes. 

Lance headed to the bridge alone and was met by a very stern looking Allura giving him a glare from her center station. When she opened her mouth to object to Lance's tardiness he raised his hand to stop her. "Sorry i'm late, sweet-thing, but a man's got to eat."

Without responding, the princess rolled her eyes and returned to toying with systems on her holographic screens.

Keith and Coran were also in the room, chatting near Coran's control panel about something that Lance couldn't quite make out.

Lance walked straight to his station in the back corner of the bridge and flung his body on the comfortable blue-lit chair. He rested his head on one armrest, letting his feet hang over the other. He closed his eyes taking in the pleasant darkness of the room.

After about a minute of relaxing he shot his eyes open. Where was the sun? The past week Lance had been welcomed in the morning by burgundy sunlight, but it was no where to be seen that morning. Lance sat up and lifted his body over the side of the chair. He walked up to the large, looming window to look at the ground beneath the castle. However, all he saw was endless space and stars. The castle-ship had taken off in the night. 

Placing his hands on the glass Lance asked, "When did we leave?"

He heard the voice of Coran answer his question from the opposite side of the room. "We've been flying for about four of your Earth hours." 

Lance hummed in understanding before a realization came to him. He turned and frowned. "Are we...fighting the Galra?" 

This time, it was Allura who provided an answer, "We can't be sure, but I will explain our situation to you shortly."

The two absent team members decided to enter the bridge at that moment. Both of them were dressed casually, and Hunk was holding three bowls of food goo. He smiled brightly, "I brought extra!"

Allura sharply turned to face the pair. Lance grinned knowingly, like a child finding humor in seeing their friend get in trouble. He expected her to scold them for their lateness, but she merely said, "Good, you're here," and signaled for them to join Keith and Coran at the head of the bridge. As Pidge and Hunk made their way across the room, Lance also headed over to the front control panel. He stole a spoonful of food goo from one of Hunk's bowls, much to his dismay, before moving to stand next to Keith. He was gifted with a in-approving glare from Coran as he leaned back on the control panel.

Allura stood behind the group with her hands neatly crossed in front of her. She looked at each of the paladins in the eyes, as she usually did when preparing to notify the team of something important. 

"I asked you to here today for a reason that may seem contrary to what you think on the matter." She paused to take in a deep breath. "We've received a distress signal from a planet called Guacair. I've decided to take us there, that's where we are heading now."

When she finished, the green and yellow paladins looked to the window, their faces contorted in disarray. Apparently, they hadn't noticed the change in scenery either. When Pidge turned back to Allura she crossed her arms. "What's wrong? Is it the Galra?"

Allura frowned. "I'm not sure. The signal didn't give any specific information. We can only assume its that's the case."

Next to Lance, Keith nodded and pressed a hand to his chin, processing the situation.

"I don't think this is a good idea, princess. We've only been training for a week, we aren't ready yet," Pidge responded.

The red paladin stepped away from Lance and moved until he was leaning over his smaller teammate. "That doesn't matter. It's our duty to try, these people could be in danger. Do you seriously want to ignore that?"

Hunk carefully put himself between his two friends and faced Pidge. When he spoke, his words were calm and discreet, "I get that we aren't ready, but do you remember what happened to the Balmera? If we waited any longer to help them Shay and all of her people would be dead."

Pidge nodded in understanding. The whole team knew that when Hunk brought up the Balmera, he meant business. As the Lance watched the scene he remembered how on edge he  became when Shay was in any slight danger. 

Lance crossed his right leg over his left. "Besides, it's not like we can't handle a little challenge."

Keith ignored his side comment and looked to Allura. "What about the Blade of Marmora? Kolivan hasn't contacted us since the battle and we need all the help we can get." 

"They aren't interested. They're already trying to finish off the last of the Galra from the inside using Slav's technology," she answered. 

Keith scoffed. He still wasn't very fond of the organization. Apparently they were the reason he learned that he was part Galra, but according to Shiro, it hadn't been easy for Keith to obtain the information. His dislike for them wasn't lessened any when they took off with Slav after the battle with Zarkon without saying a goodbye. "Of course. So when are we getting to Guacair." 

The paladins turned at the sound of Coran rapidly pressing coordinates into his panel. He said, "We'll be there in 30 vargas. Just enough time for you to get ready." Suddenly a giant picture of the planet popped up onto the screen in front of the panel. 

The planet seemed large, definitely larger than Arus. Molten rock and lava covered every inch of the oblate spheroid, and ripples of flaming heat spread from the surface. 

"Uh-Coran?", Lance started. "I'm all for hot and steamy situations but this is a lot, even for me." 

"Hold on a tick." Coran continued pressing icons and pushing buttons until a second image popped up next to the first. 

The new image displayed a different side of the planet. It was still covered in lava but a giant gaping hole lingered at the center. 

"The Cairans live under the crust of their planet inside a huge cavern. It's the only way they can survive," Coran said, staring in awe at the strange world.

Lance quirked his eyebrows. "So, it's inside out?"

Coran closed down the screen and exhaled. "Yes, Lance, the planet is 'inside out.'"

"Oh, cool."

Allura walked over to her center station. As she waved her hands across holographic maps she instructed, "Paladins, prepare yourselves. We will be arriving shortly."

"Thank you, Allura." Keith nodded to the princess and broke into a fast-walk, heading to where Lance could only assume was the armory. 

When Keith arrived at the door of the bridge Lance ran to catch up to him. He could've swore that once he managed to achieve a steady stride next to Keith, he had sped up in his walk. Lance found it difficult to keep up with his friend as they all but ran down the halls of the castle.

Lance decided to be the first one to speak, taking quick breaths in between his words. "Keith, buddy, are you okay?" 

When Keith spoke he didn't sound short of breath at all. His voice was harsh and accusing. "I'm fine."

He wasn't fine. Lance laughed at how drastic the difference between him and Keith was. The blue paladin never let others know how he felt, except in rare times of pure distress. He always covered himself in the same blissful attitude. Keith, however, was different. He'd say he was okay but his tone was completely contradictory, he made his emotions painfully obvious. Lance had noticed this numerous times, like when Keith had changed after meeting Ulaz. Everything about him was different. His stance, his body language, even his breathing was on edge.

"Are you sure? I mean, what you said this morning was pretty harsh. You're lucky my ego doesn't get damaged very easily or you would've made me cry." Lance shot Keith a friendly smile but was waved off.

His friend turned his head away. "I'm just tired of you and your jokes. We're supposed to be paladins, not kids. We shouldn't be against each other all the time."

Lance found it hard not to flinch. Was Keith really that done with him? He didn't understand. Yes, the red paladin was constantly the victim of his snarky comments and their rivalry was almost always present, but all of that was dismissed when they worked together and  _bonded_. Lance felt so close to Keith when the two of them acted as a team. Maybe it was all in his head. 

He frowned and put his hands in his pockets. "But we  _are_ kids."

Keith shook in head. "You don't get it."

The pair walked together in silence, barely aware of Pidge and Hunk trailing twenty feet behind them. When Lance saw they were approaching the entrance of the armory he worked up the courage to get a question that had been lingering in his mind for a few minutes out of the way. He took in a deep breath. "Do I really bother you that much?" He was surprised Keith heard him, his voice was hardly over a whisper. 

Something in Keith shifted and he pulled Lance to a stop, which caused their pursuing friends to stop in their tracks as well. Keith broadened his shoulders so that he was the same height as Lance. He sighed and hung is head slightly. "That isn't what I meant. You've been doing a good job with Red, but it's still hard for me to lead Voltron with you trying to pick a fight with me all the time. So just, try to lay off a little, okay?" Without waiting for Lance to respond he headed directly through the doors and into the armory. 

Keith's explanation wasn't the best or the most comforting, but it did help Lance's self-esteem. He chuckled as he followed him into the room and strolled towards the pods. He could stop the arguing for a few days right? He figured the red paladin deserved a break especially after what he had just said. It wasn't much, but Keith was sort of trying, and Lance acknowleged that fact.

The paladins each changed into their armor and rendezvoused in the bridge for a second time that day. Each team member made it to their stations as the Castle of Lions approached an orbit.

"Coran what's the castle's speed?", Allura asked as she grasped her pedestals.

"Checking now, princess," The castle mechanic said as he pulled up a visual of the castle's surroundings. "We'll be heading into Guacair's atmosphere at fifty magnots per pirat."

The planet on the screen grew larger and larger as Lance watched it. Suddenly, the castle entered the atmosphere and the bridge began to shake from the pressure of the change in chemicals in the atmosphere. The room grew extremely bright to the point where Lance's eyes started to hurt. The glowing rays of the lava from the planet's surface made the castle feel achingly hot. 

Coran widened his stance and continued to press numerous buttons on his panel. "Hold on everyone, the heat will be gone in a moment." The paladins leaned forward in their chairs as the castle-ship neared the entrance to the center of Guaciar. The wide cavern seemed to swallow the ship with its darkness and cool air. It was the complete opposite of the surface, and Lance could see why its inhabitants might enjoy the inside of the planet more than the outside. 

"Uh, princess?", Keith said when Coran's screens went pitch black. 

"Hold on." Allura instructed as she rubbed her hands in circles on her pedestals. 

Lance felt straps wrap around his chest. His eyes moved to the miniature screens in front of him to see what the castle was doing. He saw the small model of the ship begin to rotate on its front. At the same time, he felt all of the blood in his body start to flood to his head. The castle was turning. Apparently, Coran had not listened to Allura's warning because once the castle was upside down, Lance saw a silhouette get thrown across the room with a loud thump. 

Once the ship was fully turned around Allura changed the direction of the gravity in the castle and the paladins were released from their protective straps. Lights were released from the exterior of the castle and the front screens once again showed the ship's rocky surroundings. 

The princess' thoughts were focused to where Coran was now sprawled across the floor near Pidge's command station. "Coran, are you alright?", Allura asked. Her eyes were still concentrated on the panels in front of her but she sounded quite concerned.

Coran rolled his neck as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Yep, nothing to see here...except I think I may have broken one of the mice." He paused to check his pocket and sighed in relief. "False alarm. It was just a piece of tarleton bread." He laughed to himself as he walked back to his control panel like  _how did that get in there?_  

The blasters lessened and the castle slowed into a calm descent. Allura brought her hand to one of the icons on the holographic screens in front of her and held it down. She announced over a loud speaker, "People of Guacair, I am Princess Allura of Altea, we wish to land on your planet. We mean you no harm." She moved her hand back to her pedestal and waited for Coran to give the okay for the castle to land. 

After a few minutes of slow descending Coran informed the rest of the team that they were all set to alight. As Allura and Coran did all of the important work, the paladins were scanning over the castle data to make sure there were no mistakes. The earthlings may not have been very familiar with Altean technology, but each of them had trained to be astronauts and could handle basic rocket science. 

Lance's body jerked as the castle settled onto the inner surface of Guacair. He blinked and look to his friends. "Is this a good time to say 'are we there yet?'"

Keith stood up from his station in front of Lance's. He moved his red helmet from the crook of his arm to his head, leaving it open so his face could be clearly seen. He crossed his arms and strolled to the front of the room next to Coran. When he looked up at the screen and examined the statistics displayed on it, Lance thought he looked almost like Shiro. He then realized he didn't like that thought and pushed it to the back of his mind. 

Lance currently thought of Shiro. He was told by Keith and Allura to not talk about it, they tried to assure them he was with the Galra or in some universe or plain, but it didn't help his haunting thoughts. If it was his choice, the team would of been at Galra's command center, attacking them at their weakest point. Shiro couldn't have died. It wouldn't have made sense, there was nothing left behind. Not an ounce of blood, sweat, or tears in sight, and that's what each of the paladins had put into that battle.

Keith pivoted to face the rest of the room and balled his hands into fists. He nodded to himself as he spoke, "Let's go. There are people who need us."

He moved his gaze to meet Lance's and jerked his head, inviting him to stand as well. Lance wasn't sure if the gesture was meant to be friendly or not but either way he appreciated it.

He watched as the red paladin passed Allura, which caused her to turn and follow him. Lance noticed that she'd been doing that a lot lately; trailing behind Keith. He liked to think he knew the princess well enough to be able to say that she wasn't very reliant on other people. Her independence had driven her to great lengths but she still struggled to rely on people other than her few close friends. At first, Lance had been jealous of her new companionship with the red paladin, but after a while that wore off. He realized that their connection was purely platonic. Allura's need to linger behind Keith seemed like more of a coping mechanism rather than actual feelings. Keith didn't pay any attention to her so Lance figured he didn't need to worry, though he was concerned about what had driven Allura to change so abruptly.

Across the room Pidge and Hunk hopped out of their chairs. The green paladin ran over to Coran, who would be staying aboard the ship, and handed him her glasses before making her way to Lance's side. 

"What you think the Cairans will be like? I hope they're as advanced as the Olkari. Though, I doubt it considering where they live but you never know. I wonder what the look like. Maybe they have some sort of laser eyes, I've always wanted to meet aliens with laser eyes," Pidge went on about the new otherworldly species, speaking of how they would speak, or what they might eat. Lance stared at her as they walked, watching her eyes light up in child-like wonder. 

He smiled as his small friend displayed her love for the mysterious universe. A few feet in front of them Hunk walked alone, and in front of him Keith and Allura conversed about how they would approach their situation.

Hunk pulled himself to a stop, making Pidge pause in her excitement. Hunk turned sideways and shifted his gaze first to Keith and Allura who were still walking, and then to Lance and Pidge. "Um, are we doing the heroic entrance where we stand in formation and look really cool? 'Cause if we are, I need to pee first." 

Lance rolled his eyes and pulled both of his friends along with him. "Yes Hunk, we're doing the heroic entrance. We  _always_ do the heroic entrance, it helps impress the lady's."

The team arrived at the main doors of the Castle of Lions and waited for the over-sized door to open. After a moment, they slid agape with a loud 'tiss' noise revealing the planet of Guacair. Each of the team members, besides Lance, looked to Keith to take the first step outside of the castle. As Keith began to step forward Lance felt a stinging pang of jealousy ring out inside of him. He walked forward as well.

Both him and Keith stepped onto the surface of Guacair at the same time. Lance didn't have time to take in the rough feeling of rock beneath him because he was too busy staring at Keith defiantly. He hadn't thought about the consequences of his actions before he carried them out, he just did it on instinct. He couldn't help himself, no matter how hard he tried, Lance just couldn't accept Keith as more than him. He realized the reasons he was giving Keith such a hard time were purely selfish. Lance subconsciously knew that if Shiro was present he would be anxiously  waiting for him to venture out into the unknown world along with the rest of his friends, but that wasn't the case.

Lance took in the body language and facial expression of the red paladin as their eyes met. He didn't seem angry or ready to fight in any way, he just looked disappointed and frustrated. It was a great contrast to Lance's stance. His arms were flexed in a way that made his wound ache and legs were bent, ready to lunge if needed. Neither of the boys looked like they wanted to say anything, it was as if enough had been said through that one synced step out of the castle doors. Lance felt the recent memory of Keith smiling at him in the bridge begin to fade.

From inside the castle, Hunk let out a loud burp. In an instant, the taut ambiance was replaced by a slight awkwardness. Lance's deep blue eyes never left Keith's dark ones but he could hear his gassy friend's self-conscious apology. "My bad. Just trying to break the ice," He giggled a bit at the end of his sentence.

Keith ran a distressed hand across the forehead of his helmet before letting his arm fall to his side. He turned to face the world around him and asked, "Where is everyone?"

Lance's mouth hung open. 

_What the quiznak just happened?_

He felt rejected, and almost embarrassed. Lance had been left hanging hundreds of times, but never had he been remorseful for that fact. This time as he stood there, feet touching the ground of a new planet, he was completely speechless.

The rest of the group ignored the previous moments of agitation and walked outside, taking in their surroundings. 

The team activated the flashlights on their helmets. All around them were stalagmites made of a glass like rock. The ground was made of the same hard substance that felt strange against the paladins' armored boots.

When they looked up all they were greeted with was an endless darkness. The open-ended nothingness left Lance's head hurting. Normally, when he looked above him he saw sky or stars, it was strange to think that there was more solid ground at the other end of the void. 

Pidge took a few steps forward and began to run her hand over a stalagmite that was about the same size as her. Absentmindedly she muttered, "Interesting," before turning around and asking a legitimate question. "Are you sure we have the right place, princess?"

Allura placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Yes, the next planet is light years away." 

Lance moved for the first time since his silent dispute with Keith. He spun slowly as he walked in the direction opposite of Pidge and called out, "Hello? Someone call for a rescue? Hello!" He crossed his arms and smirked at Allura. "Well if this is it, then where are the damsels in distress? Unless they're just a little shy-"

He was cut off when his vision was consumed with a cool black substance. Lance paused and his body went tense. Somewhere in front of him he heard his friend trying to calm him, "Uh-Lance? Don't panic but I think that rock is trying to eat you." The voice was Hunk's, he sounded way more anxious than Lance actually felt. 

Next, he heard Pidge voice, she had moved from the stalagmite back to the group. "Wait...I don't think that's a rock."

Slowly Lance felt the foundation that covered his eyes slowly move away from his face. It was as if the creature that had taken hold of Lance had been waiting for one of the paladins to make Pidge's realization. Lance turned and found himself face to face with the thing that had grabbed his face. It appeared sort of human, except for the fact that it was made of molten stone. It was taller than a human, about 7 feet, and its shoulders were two times broader than its waist, which was incredibly thin. Lava flowed from the creatures mouth and swirled around its body, and its eyes were the kind of blue that one could see in flames, the color contradicted the rest of its body. 

Lance stepped back in surprise at the sudden presence. He wondered how the Cairan managed to sneak up behind him without being seen. His mental question was answered when he saw others like the person in front of him begin to pop up around him. They grew up from the ground like the stalagmites that covered the surface of the planet. Each had different patterns of lava wrapping around their bodies. The volcanic substance brought light to the cavern as more and more Cairans popped up around the castle.

The person in front of Lance stared down at him with a blank expression, and the lava flowing from their mouth made them seem even more serious. He cleared his throat, trying to make sure that when he spoke his voice wouldn't be five octaves higher than usual. "Hi?"

A sudden hand at his shoulder pulled him backwards making him trip over his own feet. Keith stepped up to the alien once he let go of the blue paladin, earning an eye roll from Lance. The red paladin raised his hand for a shake, but retreated it once he noticed the molten rock that covered the hand of the person opposite him. Instead he went for a small nod of the head. His voice was formal in his introduction. 

As he spoke Lance couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at his introduction, it wasn't very Keith-like. He didn't sound high tempered and cold in his own silently but deadly way like he normally did. If anything, his behavior was similar to Shiro's, and Lance didn't like that. Of course, if _he_ was the leader, which he sadly wasn't, the question of  _what would Shiro do?_ would most definitely pop into his mind. However, he would never deliberately change himself to fit the high status, and the fact that Keith seemed to be doing just that rubbed Lance the wrong way. 

"I am Batbaun, ruler 761 of Guacair." His voice sounded manly and almost-human, except that instead of coming from his mouth, the voice reverberated from underneath him, and it sounded scarily abstract.

Pidge fixed her glasses and stared up into the dark space above them in thought. She asked, "Fascinating. So you have a form of government here?"

Batbaun's blue eyes flickered at her question. When Lance looked into them he could've sworn he was laughing, even though his voice was perfectly monotone. "Cairans would never take on another planet's custom. We are the perfect society."

Lance scoffed and muttered, "If you're so perfect than how come you called us for help?" The question was meant to be rhetorical and unheard, but once the words left Lance's mouth the lava on the Cairans around him turned as black as coal, and the air was filled with warning. 

He fake-smiled and laughed, "Kidding!" In an attempt to fix the situation he turned to the alleged 761st ruler. He asked, "What's your name again,  _Batman?_ Well whatever it was it's too hard. Can I call you Batty? Or how about B-man?" The mood became even more tense. Apparently the Cairans did not appreciate good humor.

Before he could apologize Allura passed his side and stopped in front of Batbaun. She grinned sweetly, obviously trying to make peace with the stuck up aliens. "I apologize for...him. What he meant to say was that we are here to help you with your problem. Although, I don't really see your trouble."

Gradually the lava flowing down the aliens' bodies changed back to its red-orange color. Batbaun cocked his head to the side. "That is because your simple eyes cannot comprehend our world." The lava gushing from his mouth began to speed up and pour with more intensity. His people followed suit as they moved without their feet actually being in motion. They glided across the rock floor until they made a circle around the castle. 

Over the intercom, Lance heard the concerned voice of Coran. "Paladins, what's happening out there?"

No one knew the answer to his question, the Cairans seemed to be carrying out some sort of ritual. Voices chanted in unison as they drifted around the castle in a language that Lance couldn't understand. They rose and dropped their jagged arms in rhythm.

While this went on the team regrouped and stood in a wary circle. Hunk clung to the blue paladin, one hand on his arm and one hand gripping the handle of his paladin armor. His head looked frantically back and forth trying to focus on one thing, and failing miserably. Lance cringed as his friend screamed into his ears trying to comprehend what was going on around him. "Are-are we gonna die?That one just looked at me! Is this a cult? I hate cults! Oh god, what if they use voodoo dolls? Guys!" Hunk was never very good at handling strange situations.

Soon, the team and the castle began to descend. At first, Lance assumed they were being lowered on some type of platform, but after looking down to where they were headed he saw that he and his friends were being absorbed by the planet. He then decided to join Hunk in freaking out. He began to shriek and pull on his legs harshly before falling on his rear end.

Keith attempted to jump in place and escape the rock that had become a quicksand-like substance. He turned his head to face Batbaun who stood in the same place he had always been in, staring at the struggling paladins. "What are you doing? We're trying to help you!" His voice sounded angered, Lance felt calmed about Keith returning to his normal restless state.

Pidge's head was the first to go under, causing a rued yell from Hunk. Once she went under however, the Cairans sped up their process and the rest of the team was swallowed by the ground as well.

Lance's vision went blurry as he felt the air escape from his lungs. The substance that had consumed his being must've cut off the oxygen that was supplied to him by his armor. He tried to move his arms to search for his friends but was frozen in place like a fossil. When his head began to swim and he started to drift from consciousness he noticed that his feet were now mobile. He used all he energy to squirm the bottom of his legs until his waist was free from the rock. He rocked his body back and forth trying to ignore that flaming pain that rocketed in his throat.

He wasn't able to enjoy the sweet oxygen that filled his lungs once he was free, because as soon as his body left the soft rock he found himself falling.

The fall was the quick and startling, not long enough for Lance to activate his jet pack. He didn't have time to take in his fast-moving surroundings as he fell, for in an instant his backside smacked against a hard ground. Thankfully, his armor aided in breaking his fall, but it didn't stop the aching sensation that ran up his still injured arm. 

He massaged the ache as he forced himself to sit up, and was taken aback when he saw his teammates sprawled out around him. The only one who hadn't collapsed was Allura. Her posture was perfect as she stood a few feet away from Lance, eyeing something behind him. Curious, he shifted to sit back on his knees and turned to face the same direction as Allura. His eyes widened. 

The castle was sitting in front of group, perfect as could be. He heard gasps from his friends as they made the same unusual discovery. Lance looked up to see the substance that swallowed him and spit him back out within a matter of seconds, but it was no where to be seen. Once again Lance found himself gaping at black nothingness that ceased to end. 

He pressed the button on the side of his helmet and spoke into the intercom, "Coran, what just happened?"

Lance heard noises of static and rapid movement before he could properly understand the mechanic's voice. "Well, i'm not sure. The rift exit positioning monitor says we're still on Guacair, but it seems different."

Lance changed his gaze to see what Coran was talking about. The world around him appeared to be the same as it had before, with the exception of a few details. He noted that the stalagmite that Pidge had previously examined had grown from the size of the green paladin, to be taller than Allura. The Cairans must've brought them down to another layer of their planet.

Next to Lance, Keith let out a loud grumble as he wiped chips of rock from his armor. He spun in a circle once observing his surroundings and taking in data, similar to a radar. He stopped when his violet eyes met the fiery ones of Batbaun. The blue paladin watched as both of their eyes blazed and cooled like the lava on the crust of Guacair. Suddenly, Keith bolted forward so fast that Lance thought he was going to attack. 

He paused an inch away from Batbaun, by this time his red bayard had formed a sword and was ready to strike. Lance wondered how Keith's skin wasn't melting off from being that close to the magma alien. "Look, we've dealt with fakes pretending to be in trouble before. They tried to trick us and you know what happened? They got stranded on an abandoned planet. So I would think twice before doing something you'll regret."

While Lance watched the scene he half-expected Allura to come running to the rescue. He looked to Hunk who was most likely anticipating the same. Both boys waited with bated breath for the princess to step up and make peace just as she always did. While Keith threatened the Cairan ruler Hunk leaned over to his friend as whispered in his ear, "Why isn't she doing anything? Doesn't she always do something?" 

Lance shushed him and continued to watch the scene unfold. He laughed internally at how hot-headed Keith could be. He thought he could physically see the smoke bursting from his ears. Before anyone could do anything about it though, Batbaun took matters into his own hands.

At first, he was amused by Keith's provocation, but after a few minutes he seemed to realize that the paladin would not back down and grew bored. Sparks erupted from the alien's hands in warning. 

It was at this moment that Lance realized that Pidge had been missing for a while. He saw his small friend sneak up behind Batbaun with a very cold looking item. It was something that Lance assumed would seriously hurt the Cairans. He knew Pidge was trying to protect Keith from getting hurt, and he thought it was sweet of her to think that way. However, he did not think it was a very good idea to make enemy's of the Cairans by killing one of their leaders, even if they had at least 760 more. 

By the teams short encounter with the aliens he could tell much about them. They were stubborn, obviously a sort of collectivist society, and depended much on isolationism. They got what they wanted when they wanted it without saying any pleases or thank you's. Lance didn't feel obliged to help the Cairans with whatever it was they were facing, but he knew it was his duty to free and protect all enslaved people. 

He placed a hand on Hunk's shoulder and used it to help get on his feet. More Cairans began to clump around their endangered member as Lance mugged the yellow paladin's side with his boot. "Watch and learn." Despite the joking attitude of his words, Hunk nodded as if he took the words seriously, and was genuinely impressed to see what Lance would do. Hunk had always been the only one who saw him as an equal.

Originally, Lance was planning on shaking Allura out of her bashful state and letting her handle the situation. Now though, the look Hunk gave him changed his mind. He sighed as he stared at the Cairans, taking in their movements. They stood in a way that made them seem stronger and more agile then they actually were. Each tilt of the head or lift of an arm was arrogant, and their egos were as big as Guacair itself. Everything about the species screamed confidence, and if there was one this Lance could fake, it was confidence.

He sashayed forward, fixing his helmet because he couldn't reach the hair underneath it without going breathless. He winked at the Cairans, not thinking about what gender they were, and honestly not really caring. As he made his way to Keith and Batbaun, who were still neck and neck, he saw the posse that formed around the two begin to back off. They looked almost intimidated by Lance's new presence, he figured they respected his assertiveness and felt smug for it.

Keith broke away from his e with Batbaun after becoming aware of Lance standing boastfully at his side. "What are you-?"

Lance pressed a sure finger to his mouth, muting him. Keith raised an eyebrow, silently asking Lance about his motives. He waved him off and faced Batbaun, his suave poise contrasted the Cairan's stewed one. Lance widened his stance and crossed his arms while letting a sly smirk play on his face. He spoke low, "You and I know that we're the _best_ and most  _powerful_ ones here. My teammates here are just too jealous to admit it. But still, you asked for our help, so why don't we just forget about my hot-headed friend's little threat and move on with our lives. Deal?

Lance wasn't sure his loosely thought plan would work, but after a few seconds of eyeing the alien seemed to calm and his hands stopped flickering. Batbaun peered the blue paladin up and down. "Go West." That was the last thing he said before melting into the ground with the rest of his people. 

Lance blinked and stared at the gravel where Batbaun had previously stood. Pidge lowered her cool item which he now realized was Hunk's inedible rocky road ice cream from the night before. The yellow paladin had tried to lighten up the mood by making a 'delicious' treat, but was found quite upset to realize that the alien ingredients he used made the desert rock-solid and below freezing. She tilted her head at Lance. "Uh...", her voice trailed off.

Keith put a content hand on Lance's shoulder, when the boys met each other gaze he chuckled and shook his head slightly. "Good job, man."

Hunk put his hand on Lance's other shoulder and congratulated him on his charm as well. It made Lance feel appreciated for the first time in weeks. He savored the feeling, and decided he like not being the dead-weight of the team for once. He smiled blindingly bright and shrugged. "No biggie," He said, which made the other paladins smile as well. 

Allura still stood as quiet as ever behind the group, eyes running over the castle repeatedly. She spoke into her intercom, her voice startling the paladins, "Look." She sounded on edge.

Lance turned to her and saw her head facing the direction Batbaun had previously pointed them in. At first, he wasn't sure what the princess was talking about. He thought that maybe the Cairan leader had given them the wrong direction, but as his helmet focused on a small society in the distance he saw that Cairans truly _did_ have a problem. 

"Whoa", he muttered.

He squinted his eyes and his helmet zoomed in on the area. Cairan people were frantically running about holding items that Lance assumed were valuable. Above them, a huge beast loomed looking menacingly at houses made of cooled stone. 

Lance's helmet spat out data about the large monster as his gaze settled upon it. It stood at a height that was two times larger than the Castle of Lions, the dark void swirling around it made the whole creature look like a shadow. It was a dark maroon color for the most part, with a slim, long body with no limbs leading up to a reptile-like head. Instead of scales, the monster was made of thick silky flaps that opened and closed whenever it blinked. 

Its mouth was constantly spread wide, showing the monster's bared teeth. It's eyes were just as wide as it's mouth with small slots as pupils that were surrounded by a mix of yellow and red. The creature was terrifying as it dipped and smashed with the full length of its body and tail. No wonder the Cairans were running for the hills.

"Coran, what is that thing?", Pidge asked over the radio. 

When Coran answered he seemed genuinely frightened, which was a normal way to sound when facing a giant snake monster. "I-I don't know, but it's being picked up by the castle's heat sensors so it must be alive."

Keith turned to Allura and started towards her and away from Lance. "Have you seen anything like this before?"

She didn't look at when he spoke to her, she couldn't pull her eyes away from the horrifying scene in front of her. Lance guessed she hadn't been expecting to find a slaughterhouse during the mission. She ignored Keith's question and said, "Get to your lions." 

The paladins just looked at her, each of them tempted to ask whether or not she was alright. Before any of them could do so she turned to face them, her eyes a new shade of a blue. " _Now._ " 

Her new attitude persuaded the paladins to follow her every order, even Keith. The group broke into a run, zooming throughout the castle, down stairs and around sharp corners. As they ran Keith spoke into the intercom with his commands aimed at Coran in the bridge. "Coran, open all of the bay doors, we can't waste any time."

Allura nodded, her breath was completely in tact. "Agreed, those people need Voltron, it doesn't matter how difficult they are." 

Lance thought to call her bluff and bring up how discriminatory she was towards the Blade of Marmora members who gave up their lives for Voltron. Even though they had brought up a few... _issues_ for the team, the princess still insisted on leaving them to fend for themselves. After thinking it through he decided not to bring it up.

Hunk was the next one to give his three cents on the situation. "So what's the plan, exactly?", he said, his voice a bit shaken.

Lance scoffed at his question. Every time Team Voltron faced a monster or a ro-beast one of the paladins would bring up the question of " _what's the plan_?", and every time the same answer would be given. "Come on man, you already know the answer to that. We _never_ have a plan, just wing it." 

Pidge, being the proactive thinker she was, spoke into the radio, sharing many of her ideas on how to defeat the giant snake. In the end the team decided to aim for the hopefully sensitive flaps on the creatures body. If that didn't work they would try to cut into the monsters tongue or jawbone so that it wouldn't be able to sense low frequency vibrations. 

After rounding a last corridor the team ran hurriedly for the hangar entrances. They headed through the large metal door that was, thankfully, already wide open. Keith lead the way to the center platform and made a break for the Black Lion's bay while the other team members turned in different directions towards their lions.

Lance left his friends and headed to the Red Lion without thinking of Blue for once. He flew through the bay doors, only stopping when he was face to face with the sparkly red front of the lion. By this time Lance had gotten good enough at piloting Red that it automatically lowered its head and opened its mouth for him when it sensed his presence.

When Lance's ocean eyes met the intimidating yellow ones of Red he smiled mischievously. "Tired of being in warm up mode? Me too," he said as he took his first steps into his lion.

He ran through its body taking in the burning red light that he still wasn't completely used to yet. Once he got to the control room he hopped over the back of the red chair plopping down onto it excitedly.

The adventurous grin never left his face as he pushed on Red's navigation handles with full force. It rose on all fours letting out a roar that let Lance know that the lion was just as prepared as he was, even if the two of them still didn't fully see eye to eye.

"Let's go, girl."

With the push of a button the Red Lion was bursting into the sky at full speed. The rush of adrenaline running through Lance's veins normally made him nervous. Nervous that he'd get shocked again, nervous that he'd crash Red again, nervous about so many unpredictable factors that were all related to the Red Lion. This time, the blue paladin didn't worry about crashing and burning, he just let the feeling of the need to save and protect fill him and control his actions.

He pulled back on one of the handles causing the lion's back blasters to activate sending it up over the top of the castle. The other lions emerged at about the same time as Red and together headed to the settlement of the Cairans. The information on Red's screen told Lance that the village was 300 miles away, which with the lions' speed, allowed them to arrive there in 30 seconds.

The team landed the lions right outside the town, with the Black Lion at the center, taking a break to fully observe what they were up against. Keith mumbled something under his breath that was too incoherent for Lance to hear.

"What was that?", he asked.

Keith cleared his throat. "Nothing. We have a plan and we'll succeed if we work together and stick to it. We can do this, it's what we've been preparing for."

Allura let out a small grunt of agreement. "Coran, make sure there's no other villages near by, we can't have any one else getting hurt."

When Coran replied to her, his voice sounded oddly serious. "Yes, princess. Be careful, please."

Lance felt sorry for the mechanic. He'd lost so much in his lifetime. At times, Lance was surprised he could still exert such a positive attitude. Not to mention the fright that Coran must of had to suffer through every time his only connection to home attempted to throw herself into the line of fire. Regardless of how ludicrous he was, Coran was a strong person, and Lance thought of him pretty highly. 

"Don't worry about me, i'll be okay," Allura comforted him. 

"Hey! Our friend's back," Hunk called out.

Lo and behold, at the base of the Black Lion was Batbaun, waiting to be approached. Behind him were two other Cairans who each displayed the same amount of emotion as their head, which of course, was none. 

Keith let out a half laugh over the intercom. "Now what?"

Lance watched through his screen as the Black Lion lowered its head, and the opening at its temple slid ajar. 

"What are you doing?", Pidge asked, her voice uneasy.

Keith reassured her, "I'm going to find out what's going on. I promise I won't threaten him this time, I just want answers."

He propped his hands on the sides of the opening and used them to pull himself on top of the Black Lion. He stood and put a hand on his hip as he looked down the small group of Cairans who watched his every move. Keith slid down the lion's face and jumped from its large muzzle and onto the rocky ground. He moved his hand to the side of his helmet to turn off the intercom before Allura interrupted by saying, "Leave it on." 

Keith lowered his hand, and the other team members were silent so they could clearly hear his conversation.

He opened his mouth to speak but was cut of by Batbaun, "I was hoping I would speak with the blue one, he is the only one worthy of my time, but seeing as we are in danger I assume you will do." 

"Thanks," Keith replied, his voice flat with sarcasm. "How long has this been going on?"

Batbaun hummed with something that sounded like satisfaction. "So now you believe in our problem...the vile creature has been attacking for two weeks. About 78 of our provinces have been demolished.

Each of the paladins made sounds of surprise in their lions. _78 Cairan provinces?_ Lance didn't want to think about how many innocent people had lost their lives in the past two weeks. 

"Why haven't you lead your people to safety yet? Or tried to fight? You have the fire-power." Lance assumed Keith's pun was unintended in his questioning.

The lava on the Cairans behind Batbaun turned a few shades darker, and there faces became sad. The many rulers of Guacair must have a pretty messed up way of protecting their people. 

"We have no where to go except our provinces, and a monster as noxious as the one we're against is not deserving of facing our forces," Batbaun replied, his head raised towards the void.

Lance crossed his legs and leaned back in the control room chair. "You've got to be kidding me"

Allura shushed him, "It may be horrible, but we aren't here to criticize their ways. They still need our help."

Keith pressed a hand to the forehead of his helmet before jerkily raising his head. An idea must've popped into his mind. He looked at Batbaun suspiciously. "Have you ever heard of the Galra?"

Lance could hear his friends shifting in their lions and tilting their heads at his question. "Keith?", Allura asked.

The group heard Batbaun's voice over the radio instead of Keith's. "No." His voice was straightforward and honest.

Keith paused for a moment, and all Lance could hear was the steadiness of his breathing. He nodded as if trying to make himself believe that the Galra really ceased attacking worlds. "Get your people to our castle, they'll be safe there."

Batbaun eyed him and sent out a cold farewell. " _Don't mess this up._ " He turned to the Cairans beside him and gave directions. "Membakar, group the brotherhood in the South, and Ruang take the East." 

The three aliens lifted their bodies and let themselves be absorbed by the rocky ground. Keith turned and planted his hands on the mouth of the Black Lion. "Okay. Let's form Voltron." 

Lance wasn't sure whether Keith was talking to Shiro's lion or the paladins, but either way he began to prepare himself for battle. He checked Red's stats and made sure it was stable before applying pressure to the navigation handles. Red lifted up into the air, hovering and waiting for Keith to find his place in the formation. 

As one, the lions soared through the air at full speed. Lance's eyes were trained upon the beast ahead of him as Red dipped and dived around stalagmites and cave-like houses. The only other thing that caught his eye was the Cairan citizens who pointed and marveled as he flew past them.

The large purplish monster lifted its flaps and sunk down onto its tail, preparing to destroy another line of homes. Its mouth hung open as it coiled around itself. 

Hunk shouted over the radio, "We need to form Voltron."

His notion made sense to Lance. The team could probably defeat the monster with ease if they did combine the lions. However, there was the fact that forming Voltron would take several minutes that the team didn't really have at the moment. Saving lives was more important. 

Allura was seemingly thinking the same thing because she turned Hunk down the instant the words left his mouth. "Not yet. Families are depending on us, we cannot turn their home into a battlefield." 

"Allura's right," Keith said. "We have to lure it away from the provinces. Lance and Allura attack it from the front. Pidge use your vines to tie it down. Hunk and I will be the distraction."

Hunk groaned. "Why am _I_ always the distraction?"

Ignoring the yellow paladin's complaints, the Voltron lions spread to different parts of the scene. Lance pulled back on one of the navigation handles and ran his hand over a small touch pad.

The Red Lion arched it back and spread its mouth wide, pausing in mid-air. Energy from inside the lion began to build up with great force. Lance centered the stored power at the middle of the creatures length. He took a deep breathe as the monster started to uncoil its body, and released the shot. A barrage of Altean energy was released from Red's mouth with lightning speed and headed towards the monster with incredible accuracy. Lance flew the lion around the front of the beast, slicing its neck with Red's jaw blade as the beam collided with its side.

As this went on the Green Lion circled over the area stopping flying debris from hitting caverns. The Yellow and Black Lions looped around the neck and head of the snake sending it into an unstable daze. In the Blue Lion, Allura rocketed past Lance gunning numerous shots of energy from its tail, each one was aimed at a different spot on the creature. Not all of them were successful in reaching the target, but the ones that did were critical.

The monster let out a painful roar that was loud enough to send Guacair into a series of convulsions. It extended itself out from its protective coil and started to lean over itself preparing for a slow and devastating fall.

"Pidge, now!", Keith ordered.

"I'm on it!", the green paladin replied as she flew her lion to the backside of the beast. A ray of energy came from the Green Lion's back as it pawed its way around the monster. Vines of vegetation materialized wherever the ray touched. Pidge grunted over the communicator as she whirled around its body tying it in place. Even though the make-shift trap for the monster was ostensibly tight on its skin, it wasn't enough to stop the creature's collapse and it began to plunge to the ground, directed at a troop of helpless Cairans who were trying to make an escape.

Allura shouted through the intercom, "No!"

She pushed Blue to its full speed and steered it to charge directly at the fleeing group of aliens. 

At first, Lance wasn't sure what was going through her head. However, when he saw his former lion bare its teeth he knew what was about to happen, Allura was going to fire Blue's ice beam. It may of been a good idea...if the team wasn't on a planet that was primarily made of heat and magma. Using the cold crystal to protect the Cairans may just put them in even more danger than they already were in. 

Once he realized this he slammed his hands down the red navigation handles, sending Red into a frenzy of acceleration and agility. One of the only perks of piloting the stubborn Red Lion was its momentum. Damn, could it fly. He raced to the spot where the creature was destined to fall. His gaze left the beast and rested on the Blue Lion who was on the verge of releasing its magic.

"Sorry, Blue," Lance muttered as he guided one of the control handles backward causing the Red Lion the flip and lose control. It moved quickly, its feet facing the Blue Lion. Lance played with several icons on his control panel and the paws of the lion released hot blasters which aimed at Blue. When the hot fuel flared against the lion it was immediately propelled away from the Cairans.

Over the intercom, Allura's sounds of disgruntlement could be heard as she was tossed around in the lion. Instead of landing over the Cairans, the ice beam missed entirely hitting a the side of a large rock cliff yards away. 

Lance ignored her state for the moment and flew to the underside of the snake to stop it from causing any damage. Sadly, as fast as the Red Lion was, it seriously lacked strength and armor, that was more of the Yellow Lion's forte. He let out grunts while using up all of his energy in trying to the hold up the ginormous and  _heavy_ snake monster.

The other paladins didn't to help for a few moments, they were pretty much speechless just from sheer shock at what Lance had done. They only acted when the blue paladin called out for them.

Between groans he managed to say, "Guys...I could use...a little help."

That seemed to knock his friends out of their surprised state. Hunk was the first to jump to his side. He had activated the extra armor on his lion with his bayard and took most of the weight off of Lance's and Red's shoulders. Thanks to the great leaven from his friend Lance was able to catch some of his breath and alleviate some of the pain in his shoulder from pushing so hard. 

Allura, Keith, and Pidge each flew their lions to Lance's side as well and used that time to talk about his previous actions. 

"Lance?", the princess asked.

Lance explained himself, even though he thought the reasoning behind his behavior was clear. "You still don't get it? I mean, it's obvious that you can't just go shooting a planet made of  _lava_ with ice beams, it'd just wipe everything out." 

The sound of gears clicking in the paladins' minds could basically be heard. Lance knew he wasn't the smartest one on the team, so he'd just figured everyone else had been thinking the same thing as him, but apparently he hadn't been right in assuming that. 

Pidge hummed over the radio. "Good thinking, Lance."

Allura sighed. She was probably feeling annoyed with herself. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." 

Lance shrugged as if the princess could see him. "It's okay, gorgeous, I got it covered. But-uh-shouldn't we move this guy?", He said, talking about the beast that was currently resting on the backs of the five lions.

"Yeah. Hunk, we're gonna need you for this one," Keith commanded. "Hold the creature up while we lead it to the open space just North of here. That's where we'll defeat it." 

Hunk shifted in his lion. "Got it, buddy." His next words were aimed at his lion but could still be heard over the radio. "You can do this, boy."

One at a time, the lions each moved away from the underside of the beast, leaving Hunk to fend for himself. As the paladins flew to the backside they could hear Hunk's loud grumbles. Lance had faith in his friend, but he knew he wouldn't be able hold the snake for long. 

"Pidge and Lance, work together to lift the middle. I'll take the head, and Allura will grab the tail. Hunk, can I count on you to fly up here once we get this thing off the ground?", Keith asked.

It took a bit for the yellow paladin to answer. His voice was meek and strained when he forced out a barely audible reply, "yeah".

Keith let out a determined grunt and said, "Good. Ready?...Now."

At his command, the paladins sunk their lions' claws into Pidge's vines and ascended into the air, with the creature in their grasp. Hunk abandoned the underside of the monster and joined Allura at its tail, helping her upraise the body part. 

Inside the Red Lion, Lance was pressing numerous icons and pulling levers trying to keep the lion steady. The team flew forward as one, barely losing control. They sped as far away from the Cairan towns as they could before the creature started to feel better. It restlessly lurched its body forward. 

"Get ready to release," Keith warned.

The radio was dead silent except for Keith's carefully executed instructions. Even Lance, who normally objected to Keith showing any kind of leadership, made no snarky comment. He was patiently waiting for Keith's okay.

After flying a few more miles the red paladin finally announced, "Go!"

In sync, the lions withdrew their claws and the monster was sent flying, the flaps on its skin lifted and its mouth side agape as it sailed. 

It landed in an almost-flat landscape with a harsh thud. Rock particles and coal flew up from the ground where it landed, creating a smoke that made it hard for Lance to see the snake writhe.

Unfortunately, the fall made it easy for the monster to escape its bindings. When the exhaust cleared, the lions were hovering face to face with the lunging snake monster. Its eyes were frantic and its pupils were so narrow that Lance thought they'd be able to cut through Hunk's unbreakable rocky road ice cream. The beast heaved itself at the team, probably hoping to swallow them in one fallow swoop. 

Lance leaned his navigation handles forward and the Red Lion arched its back and bared its teeth. Lance felt the temperature in the control room rise and he knew the lion was listening to his command and preparing its fire. The monster face flew at the Red Lion and right before it could make contact with it, the lion released its fire power right into its mouth.

The snake recoiled at the hot presence in its mouth, which made it easy for Keith to use the Black Lion's blasters to shoot at the flesh at its jaw. The other lions activated their jaw blades and cut the sides of the monster splitting it down the middle. The two split pieces were both sprawled out on different sides of the plain.

Together the lions settled at the center of the landscape facing each other.

"Awe yeah!", Lance shouted.

"Did we just win?", Pidge asked.

Keith let out a quick laugh. "I think we did. Good job guys, we-"

The team was cut off from their celebration at the sudden rumble of the ground.

Hunk started breathing heavy, "Uh, guys?"

The paladins turned their lions. Standing in front of them, were two regenerated snake-beasts, one red and one purple. Besides the color change, the monsters looked exactly like the original, and both were extremely angry. Their fangs were bared and their eyes seemed even more wild than before. Slowly, the twin creatures crossed over each other surrounding the lions with their prolonged bodies.

A lump formed in Lance's throat as the snakes rose higher and higher. The eerie way they moved made them appear to be growing in both height and length. 

_So, they can do that. That's good to know._

Keith spoke steady and calm, "Team, form Voltron."

As if the monsters could read his thoughts, they charged as soon as the word 'Voltron' was spoken. 

Lance slid his hand across his control panel, sending Red into a frenetic flight. The other paladins did they same and escalated into the black void that acted as the planet's inner sky. The monsters launched themselves up into the air along with the lions trying to snatch anything they could. 

When Lance thought the team was in the clear he shifted Red into hover mode and looked down to see that they were not. The snakes were still rising and it made him wonder if the monsters really _could_  grow. 

He activated the back blasters which sent him into a straight climb. His friends were doing similar and they almost gained enough height to be free of the threat, but Keith in the Black Lion started flying too fast, probably instinctively thinking that he was piloting Red. The pressure that the Black Lion was receiving from its pilot's poor flying caused it to veer to the side and smack into the Green Lion.

Pidge let out a scream over the intercom as her lion hurdled to the ground and was caught by the red monster. It wrapped the lion in its coil and the tension was obviously affecting its pilot too, because she released short moans of pain. 

Before the lion could be completely crushed, the creature spun in a circle, gaining momentum. Once at a speed that it was satisfied with, it let go of Pidge and sent her soaring across the rocky expanse uncontrollably.

Lance froze in his lion as he watched his friend's lion lay still on the terrain. "Pidge!", he shouted and careened his lion to face the direction of her lion. 

Lance ignored his friends' shouts of " _Lance, no!_ " and pushed down on his navigation handles, sending the Red Lion into a fast decline. 

Were his friends insane? It didn't matter whether or not he got caught by the monsters as well, Pidge was in trouble. The creatures could've easily shifted their gaze to the Green Lion and she'd be gone in an instant. 

The two snakes whipped their tails trying to smack Red out of the air, while still trying to grapple the other lions. Lance parried their attempted attacks and maneuvered their elongated bodies. Occasionally he would flip his lion backwards and aim shots of energy at the creatures.

From up above, the other paladins blasted their own energy beams at the monsters. Most of them missed the focus but Lance still appreciated that they were trying to help him. 

Eventually, he gave up on trying to assault the enemies and flew straight to the out of commission Green Lion. He landed abruptly in front of the lion and called out to his friend. "Pidge, you okay?"

It took a few seconds but the green paladin managed to respond to him, "Lance, is that you? I-I'm fine but I can't really say the same for my lion. It'll take a few minutes for her to reboot. 

Lance sighed, they did  _ ~~~~not_ have that much time on their hands. He'd barely been able to get to Pidge without dying, how was he supposed to protect the both of them by himself?

He couldn't ask his friends to come help him, they were too surrounded by the creatures. Even if they weren't, Lance didn't want to risk having another one of his friends be knocked to the ground by having them all fly down at once.

By this time, the red snake had realized that Lance was trying to save its victim. It slithered down to the two lions, it's mouth scarily widened. It stopped when it was about 40 feet away from the Red Lion and cocked its head. 

Lance narrowed his eyes as he stared at the monster through the control room screen. "Try me." 

He pressed a large switch on one of the front panels and released a projectile of fire. He didn't dare move his lion from its spot in front of Pidge as he attacked. That was his only disadvantage in the one on one battle between him and the snake.

Surprisingly, the beast lunged into the fire, swallowing it. It wasn't affected by the heat at all. 

Lance ran his hand across another panel planing to use Red's energy beam when Pidge shouted an idea at him from inside her lion. "Lance, its tongue! It won't be able sense you!" 

He took her advice and stopped the beam of energy that was forming in back to the Red Lion's throat. He activated the jaw blade and grasped the navigation handles waiting for the monster to make the first move.

After a few moments of hard stillness the snake got agitated. Lance saw this and riskily moved the Red away from Pidge. He pushed on the handles of the lion and made it run in circles around the snake.

When the monster finally jumped at him he stopped short and dove into its mouth. Mid-dive Lance turned Red to the side and aimed to land on the snake's tongue. 

He felt the jaw blade cut through the creature's tongue and rushed the Red Lion out of its mouth. 

Lance veered Red to make a short stop. When it turned Lance was able to see the now bleeding monster. It bellowed in more than just pain.

Neon yellow blood dripped from its open mouth, contrasting against its dark red flesh. The creature threw its head back and forth in retaliation of its severed tongue on the ground.

Lance savored a bit of victory, before it was horribly ripped away from him by the sight of the snake visibly growing stronger as what was left of its tongue reformed into two separate ones.

The beast roared and its tongues fidgeted with each other before extending out the side of its mouth. Lance groaned the put his hands to his head, "Not again."

He wasn't even surprised that the creature could regenerate its tongue. It should of been expected, considering it had the ability to regrow its entire body.

He turned on his radio to full frequency and heard his teammates who were trying to deal with the other snake. Keith was shouting frantic commands to his friends, but by the way the other paladins were screaming in frustration Lance figured Keith's plans weren't going so well.

Instead of dwelling on problems that didn't concern him, Lance decided to inform his friends on how he was doing. "Guys watch out, they can regenerate more than just their heads."

He heard a harsh grunt from Hunk before he responded. "I think we figured that out already."

Apparently Pidge had turned her radio to full frequency as well because she was the first to respond to Hunk's comment. "What do you mean?"

The Red Lion turned to face where his friends were fighting the purple snake monster. Damn had his team messed up. Instead of one long monster the beast was split at its top and bottom, hosting two heads and two tails. It was even more terrifying than the red snake with its two tongues.

Lance gasped, his eyes stared in shock at the large beast that resided on the other side of the terrain. He wasn't able to take his eyes off it as its heads weaved around each other in perfect harmony, trying to grip the lions that surrounded it, and occasionally succeeding.

The monster's fangs would hook onto the Yellow Lions tail, yanking it down and then it would receive a hit from Keith in his lion. Then, it would turn and smack its face against the Black Lion, and receive a blast from the Blue Lion.

In taking in the horror of the purple snake monster, Lance had completely forgotten about the creature that he was facing, and was caught off guard when the beast bit the Red Lion's side. He was lifted off the ground, letting out shouts from the unsteady ascend. He felt the whole control room being pressured as the monster started to chomp down. He heard roars of repercussion be released from the Red Lion's body.

"Hold out, girl," Lance tried to comfort the lion. The aura inside the lion began to dim and Lance knew it would soon go out of commission. He slid his hand over panels and buttons and shifted the navigation handles back and forth, but Red couldn't escape the creature's grasp.

Lance was eventually forced to leave the many icons in front of him alone, and desperately hold onto the armrests of his chair. The more he tried to simmer Red and bond with it, the more the asperous compression the lion was feeling affected him. He tried to relieve the mass tension by biting his lip.

Deep down, Lance knew that he could've gotten rid of the pain if he'd just ignored the Red Lion. Even though their bond was weak it still worked both ways. Lance could easily break it by abandoning their connection, however the Red Lion couldn't do the same. The lions were built to connect with their pilots and try with all their might to stay devoted to them. As much as the Red Lion didn't like Lance, it couldn't simply give him up, he was now its pilot.

He thought about killing his link to Red, but that would be extremely painful for the lion and there was no way in hell he would leave Red to be compacted into scraps alone. Lance heard his friends calling to him and telling him to get out of his lion, which was another easy way he could survive, but he was much too stubborn to do such a thing.

He felt Red pushing against him, trying to force him away. He held onto his armrests even tighter digging his nails into them.

The lion roared and Lance heard essential parts of its body begin to bend and creak from the monsters teeth. As time went on the creature started biting harder and harder, causing even more pressure to be inflicted unto the lion and the pilot inside.

Lance's head started spinning and for the first time ever, the Red Lion tried to speak to him. The humming speech was strained and it filled his mind with warning. Warning to leave, to get out. As much as Lance was tempted to desert the situation, he coerced himself to shake his head in denial of those temptations. "You can't get rid of me that easily," He said, his already fragile voice breaking.

Lance laughed as he realized that he might die, and it was even more amusing that he would be dying for a lion that despised him. His friends continued to shout his name over the radio looking for some type of response. He tried to call for their help but for some reason or another he couldn't get any words out. The most he was able to conjure was, "Crushed...Red...it's cool...argh."

Hunk's breathing grew heavy. "Lance, buddy, don't worry, I'm coming."

Lance watched through the blaring control room screen as his friend continuously tried to navigate around the purple snake, but to no avail Hunk kept getting trapped by one of the beast's heads or tails.

He had no idea how the monster managed to move so fast. His teammates weren't even trying to fight it anymore, all of their lions were focused on Red. The creature swiped and jumped at the speed of light, something that shouldn't be possible for a being of its grand size. The only one who managed to come even close from escaping its eyesight was Keith, who flew as high as he possibly could and tried to dive between the snake's neck's.

Lance felt his head go dizzy and his eyes start to turn hazy. With the energy he had left he pushed himself forward and swiped his hands across every panel in the control room trying to get some kind of reaction. He got none.

_Sorry I put us here, Red._

He leaned back and closed his eyes, there was nothing left that could be done. He didn't want to give up, but there was no more options, no secret weapons to save them. At least that's what Lance thought.

His eyes slowly reopened to a small 'tiss' sound. He shot up from his place in the control room chair. He stared at what was in front of him. The right panel of the lion was raised higher than the rest, and under it was a slot that was meant for a bayard. In that moment Lance began to hope again, if anything could save him and Red, it was the powerful weapon the lion had just offered him.

Lance felt rejuvenated at the sight of the raised panel, he moved his arm back near his thigh, summoning his bayard. It felt like a dumbbell in his hands, extremely heavy. He examined it, the careful blue and white coloring that contrasted the inside of the Red Lion.

He was broken away from his thoughts by the sound of the snake monster's teeth crunching even deeper into Red. Lance shook his head and lifted his arm, he heard a cautious hum from the Red Lion as he thrust his bayard into the slot.

Lance hadn't been shocked since the first time he piloted the Red Lion, and he hadn't thought he ever would be again. Red had other ideas though. He wasn't sure if the lion shocked him for a second time because it was in pain or because it still disliked its pilot but either way, it hurt like hell.

The second the red lightning caressed Lance's arm he knew he was in for a brand new experience of pain. His breath hitched and his throat burned as the air around him was suffused with his wail. The shock twisted and penetrated the skin under his protective armor.

Lance forgot how much the attack had hurt, the affliction left him seeing stars on the ceiling of the Red Lion's control room. The stars started spreading out as his eyes began to glaze over. Lance couldn't recognize his own voice in the moans he was exerting, each one more brutal than the last.

The pain was centered in the same place it was last time, except in this scenario it was his skin that took the most marring, not his actual joints.

Over the intercom Lance's teammates took notice of his sudden howl and started to shout his name with concerning interest. Instead of responding the blue paladin was only able to acknowledge them with an anguished sob.

"Lance, what's happened?", Allura called to him.

Lance wished to respond, he really did, but when he tried to make a coherent sentence he was cut off by his own shock at how weak he sounded. His voice came out so broken that it made him want to shrivel up in a ball and hibernate for the rest of his life.

Pidge came alive on the communicator, sounding especially upset. Her voice came out thick and more knotty than usual, "My lion's back on. Hang on, Lance."

Suddenly, he was taken off guard by the coarse shaking of the control room that severely worsened Lance's dizziness. His body rocked in his chair, forcing him to let out another scream from the jerking movement.

The shaking arrived another two times before Lance felt the snake that was keeping him captive set the Red Lion free. The lion was sent tumbling through the air towards the ground. A lot of frightened thoughts ran through his mind as he spun to the earth before gathering up enough confidence to use his good arm to press the icon that allowed the lion to hover.

His friends' attitudes flipped from scared and malcontent to slightly relieved. Lance didn't know how he managed it, but he pulled one navigation handle and flew across the plain. He fired his fire blaster at the purple snake while the Green Lion attacked the one that previously tried to kill him.

The intercom went quiet when the Red Lion fired its weapon at the creature's dilated eyes. Without another word Lance turned Red and flew straight towards where the castle resided. He didn't turn to see if Pidge was holding her own, or if his friends were following him. It's not that he didn't care, he was just...done.

He could've saved himself. He could have easily discarded the Red Lion and treated it as if it was nothing aside from scraps. But he didn't, Lance decided to see the lion as alive, he saw the life inside the Red Lion and cherished it. So why was it that despite all of that, the lion still wished malice upon him?

Lance jetted past seas of stalagmites and jagged hills, letting the scenery escape his gaze, for his only focus was getting to the castle. When the Castle of Lions came within his view he piloted his lion into a slow cascade towards the ground. He didn't even bother to put the lion in its hangar, Keith could do it later on.

Once the Red Lion was landed, which wasn't done very well due to Lance only having one usable arm, he disposed himself from his chair with fuming anger building inside of him. A hard scowl was set on Lance's face as he made his way through the body of the Red Lion. Every rose-colored light made him want to throw up just from sheer fury. He wished that some sudden burst of energy could rush through him, giving him the will power to calm himself. However, none came, and smoke continued to burst from his ears just the same.

As he neared the mouth of the Red Lion a new feeling sparked inside of Lance, like a speck of dust on a clover of madness. He didn't recognize the feeling, but it made him want to break down and cry right then and there, in the middle of the beast that had caused him so much hurt. He turned and slammed the hand of his injured arm against the corridor wall, and stood there for a moment.

The whole of Lance's being was consumed with a burning torment as he contemplated. How could he be so stupid? He thought things were getting better, maybe it was just his imagination. Lance has always had a streak for holding on to hope, he just never knew when to let go.

He stormed out of the lion, feeling defeated. When he stepped onto the rocky floor of Guacair he heard the sounds of the other Voltron lions landing behind Red. Subconsciously, Lance was glad that his friends hadn't been battered, he was just too tired to show it.

He continued to walk forward towards the castle entrance when suddenly his old friend Batbaun grew up from the ground in front of him, he was by himself and his fire blue eyes were dark. His face was turned into something similar to disappointment, the rockiness of his features made him look like a rotten fruit.

Batbaun's voice was callous when he spoke, "You have failed. Your 'team' told us you were capable of solving our problem. You. Have. Failed."

Lance moved his left hand and gently touched his right shoulder in an attempt to cradle his injury. "I'm sorry, man. Maybe you should talk to the others, they'll probably be of more help." He sounded weak and raspy from the screams he emitted during his short-lived battle. He shrugged and started to walk past Batbaun, who was appalled that someone could talk to him in such a way, but was stopped once more by a soft hand on his good arm.

"Lance, what happened out there?", Keith asked. The presence of his hand felt good on his arm, it was like an anchor.

He turned slowly, the look on his friend's face made him want to punch him. He seemed so determined, yet here Lance was giving up because he couldn't get a handle on his lion. There was no way he could let his friends know what was going on with him.

Before he could explain himself, Batbaun spoke once more, reclaiming the statement he had made moments before. "You are failures. Cairans can only do right in this universe or the next. Leave our planet now before I make you, we will find others to do our bidding," His words came out as a growl.

The red paladin ignored the Cairan and continued to stare at a crushed Lance. His stormy violent eyes met the calm ocean waves of Lance's, waiting for him to respond. "Nothing. I got out and I'm fine, everything's good. Besides you heard the B-man here, they don't need us anymore."

Behind Keith, his teammates began to emerge from where their lions were resting and formed at half-circle around him. Lance was sort of intimidated by the sight of his friends standing in such a formation against him. Pidge looked at him carefully, "You don't seem like yourself."

Lance chuckled, even though him felt like crying on the inside. "You guys worry too much, i'm alright, I just...can't fight right now."

"What? No. This isn't like you, Lance. We were finally learning about these monsters and yes, you had a little trouble but we can't just quit. It's our first battle." Keith's voice grew a little edge to it, but Lance could tell he was still trying to be comforting.

Lance's voice grew a bit of an edge when he spoke as well, but he still managed to hold a small smile on his face. "I'm sorry, but I can't do it right now." He said that a lot lately, 'i'm sorry'. It didn't make him feel good about himself.

He started to turn and walk towards the castle, breaking away from Keith's grasp. He managed to ignore Hunk's, "We got this, man," and kept walking, feeling worse and worse with every step.

Lance re-thought the situation. Maybe he should've told his team. They were his friends, right? His family? At least, he liked to think of them as such. They would understand the difficulty he had undergone the past two weeks. But then again, maybe they wouldn't get it. Lance had never openly shown his emotions to anyone except his mom, who was back on Earth. What if he messed up? He'd be stuck with his heart on his sleeve and no way to undo the damage.

His mind remained at war with itself as Lance walked to the castle entrance. He'd barely gotten one foot in the chamber before Keith shouted at him from behind. Lance could practically hear the red paladin's clenched fists as he yelled out, "What is it with you? First, you act all brave and make me think that you would actually try to understand, and now you're giving up? 'See you around, Guacair, have a nice life'? Is that what your going to say? Do what you want, Lance, but don't be a coward."

Lance froze. That word, that sacred and heart-wrenching word that almost always made Lance stop in his tracks.

_Coward._

Lance was many things, but the one thing he wasn't was a coward. Even though he never thought very highly of himself, in all his years of life he had never, not once given himself the lowly title of 'coward'. That one word was all it took for Lance to spill everything. He didn't even need to say much to reveal the source of his defeat.

He pivoted on his feet, staring his friends up and down. "You don't get it", he whispered. Decisively, Lance lifted the top part of his armor over his head, trying to evade the pain at his shoulder. The look on Keith's face was priceless when he pulled down his black under layer and exposed his injury.

His shoulder looked similar to the way it did before, except this time Lance was able to see the throbbing, and his skin was broken. Streams of blood dripped down his shoulder, the bleeding wasn't anything serious but it still wasn't pretty. Red and purple veins covered his whole arm in irregular patterns, looking strange on his tanned and taut skin. The sight made Lance cringe.

He thought showing his friends his wound would make him feel like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders, however, the only thing he felt was a merciless disappointment with himself. He looked down, focused on the ground into front of him.

Lance's eyes were brimmed with arising tears as he said, "I can't."

 

 

 

 


	5. Nowhere to be Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi readers!!  
> I know everyone is waiting for Prince Lotor and he's coming soon I promise, but there's a lot that has to be established in this story or else its just going to be the characters switching from getting along to fighting every three minutes which isn't what I want to do. I really like how things are playing out even if it is a bit slow burn and I hope you guys like it too. 
> 
> Okay i'll let you guys read now. Enjoy!

Lance didn't want to be weak, or angry, or stubborn. But seeing his rival in front of him, in all of his undeserved glory, he couldn't help but be a mix of all of those things.

He was weak because he was vulnerable. His friends were staring at him as if he were a stranger and couldn't be recognized. Lance couldn't even meet his teammates' eyes, he wasn't sure whether or not they were concerned for his health, or just crestfallen from him lying to them. He seriously hoped it wasn't the latter. Lance fought with every fragment in his body to stay composed, and keep the transpiring tears within the rims of his eyes. 

The anger that lied under his immediate shortcomings was due to the mess of emotions that Red had left him in. As depleted as Lance felt, he still couldn't drop the issue of what had driven the lion to shock him. At first, Lance assumed that the lion simply didn't like him, which was understandable. But after the last battle, he realized that couldn't be the case. Lance had risked his life for the Red Lion, everything he'd known would've been ripped out from underneath him and he would've undergone an unknown series of events that ended in death. He knew the lion could be stubborn and cruel, but it was good, there was no way that it would just sit by as its pilot was dying, or try to speed up the process.

No, something else was going on within the lion. Lance had felt  _something_ between him and Red that connected them, he just didn't think the lion fully accepted that yet. Maybe Lance wasn't the problem, maybe it was someone else...

His open-ended wonders were forgotten when a soft breeze swept against his delicate skin, causing him to recoil.

"What is that?", Keith's voice was low and devoid of any emotion. 

Lance didn't want to answer, he wanted to fade into Guacair's surface with Batbaun and maybe have a nice cup of tea. Anything would've been better than providing an answer to Keith's utterly simple question. 

His eyes still didn't meet his teammates', he only slid his gaze from the ground to his wound. Lance forced his mind to focus on his words so that he wouldn't stutter, that's the only thing that could've make the situation worse. "Red did it," That's all he needed to say for his team to understand.

Keith took a few steps closer to him, running his eyes carefully over the pulsing injury. Lance didn't like being evaluated, he felt like a bird in a cage, even if that wasn't Keith's intention. His friend spoke matter-of-factly, "Some of it's old. Did this happen before?" 

"Yeah, about a week ago when I formed sword the first time." Lance moved to scratch the back of his neck, forgetting his wound for a quick second before releasing a pained gasp which caused his each of friends to lean forward towards him. 

Allura relaxed her shoulders after seeing that he was alright. "Does it hurt?"

The blue paladin forced a hazy smile to graze his face before settling it into a disheartened frown. "Its pretty numb right now, but in a few hours it'll hurt like hell." He didn't want to think about the agony he'd go through later on in the evening. The first time he'd experienced the infamous Red Lion shock he'd been forced to go through it alone, Lance had lied in bed biting the inside of his cheeks trying to withhold relapsing screams.

The princess contorted her face into a sad empathy, "Why didn't you tell us?" 

Lance sighed, if questions kept getting thrown at him like rapid-fire he'd fall apart at the seams. "I, uh, didn't want to worry you."

It was a lie. Lance didn't want to be a disappointment, simple as that. Telling his friends would inevitably mean pity, which was something he was in no circumstance okay with. However, as the words left Lance's mouth he decided that maybe he didn't have to okay with it, he just needed to face the truth of his problem. 

"Wait, no. That actually isn't why I didn't tell you...I thought you guys would think I was the weak-link or something. I didn't want you to be disappointed," Lance paused and laughed. "It's kind of embarrassing now that I think about it."

Allura shook her head, walking until she stood next to Keith, "I hate that you felt like you needed to hide this from us. You're apart of this team too, Lance, we want to help you."

Hunk stepped forward proceeding her, "Yeah man, do you know how many times I've been embarrassed? Remember that one time I threw up in the simulator?"

"I think that was more than once, Hunk," Pidge giggled from behind him.

Lance's friends acted so lax about his predicament that he couldn't help but lift his head smile. The threatening tears vanished from his eyes, and one would never be able to tell that he was on the verge of sobbing only moments before.

The air didn't feel happy per se, considering the looming danger that still rested upon Guacair, but Lance did sense a calm relief that came with the joking atmosphere. He was glad that his world hadn't come crashing down around him like he'd expected. "You guys know this is different." He said with a delighted grin.

The gazes that rested on him weren't confined or criticizing, they were simply welcoming.

Keith tilted his stance and brought his finger to his lips. "I still don't understand why Red would do that."

That statement made Lance laugh. Keith had to of been kidding, there were a billion reasons why the Red Lion would want to hurt him and then some. Even though Lance wasn't certain which reason was the most evident behind the lion's motives, he wasn't incompetent enough to think that there was no valid answer.

Keith raised his head at Lance's amusement, his face was confused, however, Lance couldn't understand why. "What?", He asked.

"Wait, you're serious? It's you, dude." It wasn't really that hard to comprehend. If Lance was abandoned the way Red was, he'd be pretty pissed off as well. The expressions on his teammates' faces showed just as much. The only person who didn't seem to get it was Keith, who looked a tiny bit shaken as he registered Lance's words.

As he stood, finger continuously tapping against his chapped lip, the red paladin's face didn't change. "That doesn't make sense."

Keith was smart, the team had seen him numerous times prove that. He was also impulsive, quick to make deductions and throw himself into battle. However, there were times where he was so agonizingly oblivious that Lance just had to wonder how he'd managed to keep his sharp instincts in tact. Lance put his left hand on his hip. "Red loves you, she'd probably marry you if you didn't completely throw her into a ditch."

Keith scrunched up his face, his eyebrows furrowing. His expression was a flawless mixture of animosity and confusion. "What are you talking about? I said goodbye to my lion, same as you." His voice was monotone when he spoke, Lance could tell he didn't enjoy being accused.

The blue paladin crossed his arms. He wasn't sure why, but he found himself getting offended by Keith's ignorance. "Well, at least Blue knows i'm coming back. How many time have you visited Red in the past week? Probably none, you've been too busy moping around in the training deck to notice anything." He carefully pulled his black under-armor back over his shoulder as he spoke.

He wasn't trying to be defiant, he simply felt those things needed to be said. Lance'd had his fair share of hostile moments, but there was nothing he hated more than bullies. And watching Keith's closed and uncaring face, he thought he needed to be put in his place. Although, when he turned his body to face his former lion, Lance felt kind of bad. He knew Keith wasn't very good with emotions, his head was too enveloped in his own brooding cloud to express any kind of sentiment. 

Lance understood his friend's situation, in a small sense. Keith showed how he was feeling, and he preferred to stop there. It was obvious he didn't appreciate talking about his or anyone else's emotions, not because he didn't care, but because he thought solitude was the most comforting way to face them. Even though Lance wasn't especially fond of Keith's method, specifically because its repercussion fell unto him, he admired that Keith did what he had to do.

Lance was facing Keith's back, but he could see by the uneasy looks on Pidge's and Hunk's faces that the red paladin did not seem happy. He limped to Keith's side so that he could see his expression. He raised an eyebrow in question at his friend. His face was still, to an outsider he would appear to be stern and levelheaded, even though the glare in his eyes said otherwise. 

Lance was familiar with what Keith was doing, he'd been doing it for years himself. His posture and expression were impassive and yet his eyes held much more. They longed to pilot the Red Lion, to apologize to it even if it were only a mythical and mechanical beast. He opened his mouth once, about to say something but closed it before any words could escape. Lance sensed Red stir, he knew Keith could feel it as well. It was sad watching his friend cover himself up, he wondered if anyone had ever noticed how he did the same thing with laughter. 

After a few muted seconds Keith blinked and turned from the lion coldly, and the stirring in Red ceased. For the first time, Lance realized the truth behind the lion's attacks, and he finally understood that the lions did indeed have a choice in the matter of who their pilot would be. They couldn't accept just anyone, and a persons personality matching the one of lion wasn't the only factor. Despite being a supernatural, scientific creature the Red Lion still had proper emotions, they were just expressed on a different frequency than Lance's.

The lion didn't hate Lance, it never did, it just didn't want to let go of Keith. So when it sensed that its bond with him was growing stronger, it tried with everything it had to push him out. However, when its former pilot looked into its eyes and soul, it was crushed. Not because it missed Keith, but because he acted like he saw nothing. Did Lance think that Keith had completely turned his back on the lion? Not in the slightest. He simply did what he had to, which was something Lance was unfamiliar with. Seeing how Keith managed to let Red go so easily changed his perspective. The red paladin gave up so much for their team in those quiet moments, and it made Lance want to try more than he had ever before.

Keith faced Batbaun, who stood agonizingly next to the group, his face turned into a scowl and his lava was black. Lance figured he was too enraged to speak because he was dangerously silent. When Keith spoke, it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself rather than the Cairan who stood across from him, "We haven't failed, we just need a new way around it. Think outside the box." He paused and leaned forward to Batbaun, as if he was just realizing who he was supposed to be talking to. "Your people will be okay, but maybe next time they're in danger, you could do more than sit on your ass," He spat.

Keith spun back to his team and nodded knowingly before looking to Lance and his weak shoulder. "Help Coran from inside, do everything you can." He started towards the Voltron lions, still ignoring the Red Lion. 

Pidge smiled at the blue paladin. "Thank you, Lance," she said gratefully before following Keith to the lions.

He had completely forgotten that he'd been fighting to save Pidge's life. He'd always had a good relationship with her, and came to think of her as one of his little sisters. He was happy he'd been able to rescue her, and minimally compare to her daring personality. 

Hunk grinned at him, silently wishing him good luck, and Allura offered him a consoling, close-lipped smile. The two turned as well and took off in a stroll. The group looked so cheesy as they walked to the lions. Lance had always dreamed of being a hero, and as he stared at his friends he realized that dream might never come true, for him anyways. He knew he would never measure up to his teammates, they were just too... _good._ Lance wasn't like that, he wasn't born perfect or special, he was too simple for words, his mind was easy to twist and manipulate.

He bit his lip. He was being ridiculous. Despite being less than the people around him, Lance wasn't afraid to be bold, so why was he so insecure now? Quickly, he threw on his chest armor and ignored the prominent pain centered at his shoulder. He broke into a steady run away from the castle and called, “Wait!”

The team paused and pivoted in unison. Lance stopped in his tracks as well, a determined smirk set on his face. “I’ll do it...piloting Red, I mean.”

Hunk tilted his head. “You sure about that? Even after she hurt you?” The yellow paladin didn't cut off his smile as he spoke, he knew Lance well enough to know what the answer would be.

He nodded and raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. “You really think a little scratch is going to stop me?”

Allura looked at him with an expression he didn't really see aimed at him very often. It was something like pride. "That's very brave of you, Lance

Lance was glad he was wearing his helmet, if not his whole team would've been able to see his blushing cheeks. He'd never been called brave before, let alone by an alien princess. It made him feel special, and it gave him even more reason to fight, even if he was scared. Lance cleared his throat and boasted, "Well of course! That's just who I am." He paused to shoot a finger gun with his capable arm at Allura. "No need to thank me."

Pidge groaned from next to the princess, "There it is."

Lance broke into a steady and confident walk. He continued past each of his friends until he saw Keith, who had been quiet in the previous seconds. Their eyes met and the red paladin looked surprised as he stood serene, the veil on his helmet casting shadows on his face. He hadn't expected Lance to step up to the challenge so boldly. He seemed at a loss for words.

Instead of making a snarky remark, Lance chose to be the bigger person, in his own Lancey way. He winked and exclaimed, "Vamos amigos," which earned him laughs from his teammates that carried themselves alongside him.

Laughter had endless uses. It's main purpose for Lance was that it acted as a durable shield. However, it was also able to become a distraction. As the team headed towards the lions, he felt extremely nervous. The beasts he was facing were dangerously strong, while he was helplessly weak with his injury.

The lump forming in his throat was growing bigger by the second, his mind was beginning to be dominated by what-ifs. He could only assume his team was feeling a similar way, so of course, Lance turned his life into a laughing stock. He lived to make people feel safe, and he was willing to become the living embodiment of comic relief to do so. It was also a plus that he was able to find a diversion in the process.

The group left Batbaun and the Castle of Lions in the dust and stood before a cluster of their powerful lions. Red sat closest to the team, and behind it rested the Black Lion with the others at its side. The formation they were in made the lion's appear much smaller than their lead, which they were, but normally they didn't look like worshipers of a greater god.

In sync, each of the lions stood, becoming erect on their front paws and bowed their heads regally. Lance separated himself from his friends, and stepped into the lion that he'd wanted to rip apart piece by piece a short while before.

His eyes were most likely deceiving him, but he thought the inside of Red seemed more tarnished somehow. Lance felt bad for the hushed lion, he himself had never been abandoned before, he figured it didn't feel very great.

When he entered Red's control room he noticed that there was no pressure racking his brain. Usually, he'd felt some kind of force pushing against his presence, forcing him away. This time, however, his head was completely clear of any burden, besides the lingering adrenaline from the battle and the pain being emitted from his shoulder.

He placed an empathetic hand on the side of the control room entrance and pet it. He couldn't believe he didn't recognize the Red Lion's distress and loneliness, no wonder it acted so hostile. He remembered how upset he'd been when no one he knew was able to see past the facade he adopted when he was in the Garrison.

Lance felt sorry for getting mad at the lion's actions. It had always been known to be the 'free roamer' of the Voltron lions, so it shouldn't of been a surprise for him to have to put up a fight.

He walked to the red center chair and moved his left arm to the armrest, relying on it to sit down. Lance glanced at his shoulder. He couldn't see anything through his thick armor, but he could feel that something was off. At the moment, it was numb and only painful when moved the wrong way. However, he knew from experience that later on, it would be a whole new world of misery. In no way was he looking forward to the reliving the same affliction he had endured a week ago.

Lance noticed the strange silence of the lion and realized he'd turned his intercom off. He moved his left arm to reach around his body and press the button on his helmet. When he turned it on Pidge was in the middle of speaking, "-and find its weak spot."

_Shit._

He'd missed the plan. He had no idea what his teammates could be thinking, their opponents were practically unbeatable. They could regenerate every body part and most of their body could absorb temperatures. There was no way the paladins could cut off the snakes' airway because they breathed from the many scales covering their bodies. Man, were those things creepy, lifted and settling every time the monster turned, the sight gave Lance chills.

He cleared his throat, letting his friends know he was present. "Uh-what was that?"

"We go in as Voltron, and shoot at it until we find its vulnerability. But _no sword_. Got it Lance? We can't risk making another one of those things," Keith answered. The plan of action seemed incredibly simple for such a complex enemy. Then again, those intricate features made it difficult to learn anything that would help their approach

Lance nodded, though no one could see him. "Got it. Trust me the last thing I want to do is form sword."

The radio was awkwardly quiet after that, he figured his team was still conflicted about Lance's wound. He laughed to tell them that his words were supposed to be a joke. The only thing he got after that was Hunk's incredibly uncomfortable sigh.

"Okay," Allura broke the short silence. "Are we ready?"

"It's now or never," Pidge responded.

"Alright. Team, form Voltron," Keith pronounced.

That was all that was needed for the group to lift their lions into flight. Lance pressed a sequence of buttons into a panel and pushed on his navigation handles, checking over charts and graphs. Red's lift off was a bit rocky due to the uneven pressure put onto the handles. Lance wasn't used to having to fly with his injury so raw. The shock tore through the wrapping he'd covered his shoulder with that morning, so there was nothing to relieve the rugged and hurtful movements of his arm.

With a grunt he directed the Red Lion to the strict formation needed to form Voltron. The lion fell into place under the adjacent space to the Black Lion, and saw Pidge do the same on the opposite side of him on the pull-up screens in front of the control room.

Flying Red was much easier than it was before. It was as if Lance had never flown before. His head was clear and the lion was quiet. The screens weren't as fogged as they usually were, like seeing a rusted house with a new layer of paint on it, completely familiar but also new.

Next, the Blue and Yellow Lions found their place in the formation under the trio. Lance closed his eyes and took in deep breaths, concentrating solely on bonding, with his friends and with his lion.

Eventually, he began to hear gears turning and parts clicking together in a smooth harmony. He began to feel at peace and listen to the sweet music of the Red Lion's paws bending up into its body.

He reopened his eyes and activated the back blasters, and then steered to the Black Lion. Lance had taken drivers ed for a few months when he was fifteen. He failed his test horribly, which was surprising considering he became a fighter pilot later on in life. He didn't remember much from the short experience but he did recall backing up the practice car into a bush. Connecting Red to Voltron's torso reminded him of that, except this time he didn't plan on crashing miserably.

Lance's body visibly relaxed once he heard the final click of the Red Lion combining with the Black Lion. Around the same time his friends finished forming the other body parts of Voltron.

The giant alien war weapon stood tall in front of the Castle of Lions. When Lance moved his screens to the castle doors he was able to see the arrogant Cairans standing and staring in awe. It made Lance feel smug to be looked up to by such a narcissistic race.

Keith spoke to Hunk and Allura, "You guys know what to do, right?"

"Yes", Allura answered, though Lance doubted the red paladin's question required an answer, it was hard to misunderstand the motives of the team.

"I think so. Let's do this," Hunk said. He sounded strangely confident considering it was him. Hunk was known for his clumsiness and anxiety, but his true heroic self came out during certain occasions. Lance hoped this was one of those times, they would need a lot of bravery in this situation.

The blasters of the legs of Voltron activated and brought it off the ground. The team had gotten much better at controlling the large warship. They proved as much as the team worked together the navigate it past gigantic stalagmites with edges that seemed to reach out to the paladins.

Lance was surprised to see the snake beasts laying completely still when Voltron neared the flatland where the team had abandoned the creatures. The twin monsters lied next to one another in two neat circles, the red one's head connected to its stretched out tail. The other purple snake was in the same formation except its two heads and tails were twisting in and out of each other. No slight movement was made, they just sat their on the rocky terrain. For once the creatures' eyes were shut.

"Uh-do those things have an expiration date?", Lance asked.

The blasters ceased and Voltron landed upright between the two snakes. Lance moved Red so he could examine the red snake, the one that had almost ended the lives of him and his lion. It looked so peaceful, scary, but peaceful. His stomach clenched from the anger that built up when he saw the beast. He couldn't believe he had been ready to throw his life away.

Sure, Lance was upset from his time of being stressed and ignored, but he'd been so weak. Flying the Red Lion without it pushing back at him really let him see things in a different light. If he was going to measure up to his teammates he'd have to contribute and try harder than ever before.

"Pidge, prepare to activate shield." Keith ordered.

"What? Why?", the green paladin asked. Lance would've asked the same. There was no threat. Maybe the snake's had used up all of their energy and had simply collapsed by themselves.

"Hunk, shoulder cannon," He ignored Pidge's question.

Hunk let out a small cough. "Dude? You gotta tell us what you're thinking."

The red paladin groaned in frustration. He hated it when people weren't thinking the same exact thing as him. Another reason he wasn't fit for leader, Lance noted.

"Just do it."

The team wasn't used to receiving orders without an explanation. Shiro had always worked with the group, analyzing the predicament and asking them what their opinions were. The black paladin tried to include everyone, even if in the end he was biased towards Keith and Pidge. Lance had always been bothered by that fact, but at least Shiro pretended he cared.

Keith on the other hand, just wanted what he wanted. If it wasn't done his way, he'd go against the paladins' backs and do it himself, no reasons given. If his plans succeeded, he'd judge the group as if he were the most perfect hero to ever be. If they failed, he'd halfheartedly apologize and tell the team to move on.

Despite those facts Pidge and Hunk did as they were told, which Lance was seriously tempted to object to. The shoulder cannon formed above the Red Lion and he slid an icon across his front panel. Pidge did similar while Lance watched the Green Lion move closer to Red to assist it in holding up the weapon. Together they aimed the cannon at the head of the red snake, waiting for a cue.

Allura cut in. "Are you positive about this, Keith?"

"Aim at its body and shoot," He answered. 

Lance didn't take the order. He wasn't appreciating the fleeting answers either. He paused in the lion, he felt Hunk in the Yellow Lion pushing on his navigation handles trying to fire, but it wouldn't work unless Lance participated as well. 

Soon, Keith realized that the blue paladin wouldn't comply and grew impatient. Lance was sure his rival knew it was his fault the cannon wasn't blasting, for obvious reasons. "Lance, listen to me."

Who did this guy think he was anyway? Lance's dad?

As soon as the two were beginning to mend their issues Keith had to go and get on his nerves again. Lance didn't want to go back to being set on edge every time the red paladin spoke, he felt... _dirty_ when that happened, in spite of it not being on purpose. The jealousy that made him feel Keith was untrustworthy made his throat swell.

Lance took a deep breath. 

_Screw it._

He leaned his body weight onto the navigation handles, allowing Hunk to have full control and take the newly aimed shot. The huge blast fired from the head of the cannon and Allura had to shift Blue's positioning to keep Voltron steady. It cut through the air with incredible luminosity and speed. Accuracy wasn't an issue when facing an non-moving target, and the beam aimed perfectly at the center of the red snake's back. The large blast of energy reached it with enormous force, causing a loud wave of echos to disperse along the cavern walls. Sorted particles ejected into the air, clumping together to form a thick cloud.

Some of the alien dust seeped into the Red Lion's mouth and body, making it hard for Lance to get a visual.

He started waving his left arm frantically, attempting to clear his atmosphere. 

He heard Hunk leap from his sitting position in the Yellow Lion. He gagged, "Man, I _just_ cleaned you!" The sliding of cloths against surfaces followed his complaint.

Pidge scoffed, "Why did you bring your cleaning equipment with you?"

" _For emergencies!_ ", Hunk shouted frantically.

Lance laughed at the sound of a spray bottle releasing over the communication's radio.

The grime began to extract from the air, changing from opaque to slightly clear. The Red Lion roared at the now vacant space where the adversary had been dwelling motionlessly. Lance was taken aback as it was the first time since Lance's minor mental breakdown that it showed a response to anything.

Suddenly, Voltron was thrust by an unknown force. Lance grunted as he was willed to grip onto his chair tightly, which made his arm throb. His friends made similar noises of disgruntlement while Voltron tumbled to the ground, causing the shoulder canon to evaporate.

"Paladins!", Allura shouted, signalling to them. 

Lance twisted his positioning and grabbed a pedal that bulged from his left keypad, he levered it. The Red Lion flung backwards on Voltron's torso in an attempt to create stasis.

His friends did similar, allowing Allura and Hunk to gain their footing and find balance before Voltron could gracelessly hit the ground. 

When the warship recovered its stance the paladins were able to get a look at the force that had knocked them off their feet.

Sure enough the red and purple snakes poised before Voltron. Their flapped skin glistened with renewed strength. The beast's faces were completely unstable. The alert eyes on all three heads were twitching uncontrollably, and the tongues of the red creature clicked together in anticipation.

They were  _definitely_ not dead.

"Those things weren't knocked out, they were building up their strength," Keith finally explained.

Lance rolled his eyes, "Yeah, we got that. Thanks for the info."

"So, now what?",  Hunk asked.

"We fight," Allura didn't hesitate in her response. As always, she was ready for action. Her determination resonated through the radio and could physically be felt by Lance.

All irritation with Keith left his body and he cracked his knuckles against his navigation handles.

He watched intently as the snake monsters slithered their bodies in hypnotizing patterns. The purple one lowered to the floor, crossing its heads over each other while its shimmering body lurked along the ground slowly. The red one lifted its body to the pitch black sky and stealthily slid the opposite way of its brethren. 

"We can't let them surround us," Pidge put in.

Keith spoke, very aware of the creatures closing in around Voltron. "Stay. No one move." Once more, no other explanation was given.

Lance groaned. "Are you seriously doing this again?"

"Just trust me." His voice was cautious and on edge, but still sure.

The team waited for Keith to give further instructions.

The only sound that could be heard was the noise of stones crushing under the monsters' heavy bodies.

The snakes stop and turned, one on each side of Voltron. They placed their tails onto the ground, and began to raise on the tips, like ballerinas spinning on their toes. Their flaps flicked up and down quickly as they rose.

When the beasts were fully perched they cocked their heads and ceased all motion. Without warning they lurched their lengths forward and sprung towards the lions.

As soon as their whole beings entered the air Keith shouted, "Allura, Hunk! Fly!"

Despite being caught off guard the blue and yellow paladins managed to activate their blasters, causing Voltron to alight into the sky with great speed.

Just in time too, because as soon as the warship ascended the twin monsters crashed horrifically into each other. Faces collided and scales smacked against scales as Voltron hovered above the pulverization.

Lance looked down upon the creatures as their colors mixed and tangled together. As a clutter of red and purple the snakes gravitated to the earth, landing in a huge heap.

"Nice one, Keith!", Hunk complimented.

The beasts struggled to get out of each other's grasp, and failed miserably.

Pidge took notice of this as she studied the suffering monsters. "They're more powerful when they're separated, together they're just clumsy. We need to herd them so that they can't move away from each other."

As Pidge spoke, Lance was reminded of his siblings. Each of them were strong or smart alone, but trying to work together resulted in nothing less than a catastrophe. However, when under the right instructions the McClain's could achieve anything.

Below the suspended Voltron, the purple snake roared with both of its heads in frustration, while its twin writhed to break free. Slowly, the knot of skin and scales began to came undone, and Keith gave an order as the two monsters finally detached.

"Lance, forget what I said before. Form sword," He instructed.

"For what?", the blue paladin asked.

Keith dodged the question, "Legs, get ready to dive."

Lance shook his head forcefully, "No. You're not doing this again. Dude, what're we doing."

The red paladin was silent for a few moments, but when he noticed the opponents breaking free from each other below, he grunted. "Plunge it into the ground. These things like making boundaries, i'm thinking if we draw a circle around them their instincts will kick in and they'll go along with it."

Lance hummed in thought. It was smart, like something Pidge or Hunk would normally think of. He challenged the idea, "And if that doesn't work?"

Keith wasn't ready for that second question. He didn't really do plan B's, and he didn't think any one of his teammates would debate his idea. Lance figured that was because no one had ever done such with Shiro, who's missing presence was still avoided.

"Uh-", He started.

Pidge must've took notice of his unsure moment because she continued with a backup plan right where Keith left off. "Then we'll use Hunk's shoulder canon to keep them in check. They're snake's so the sound will be much louder than it actually is and they'll recoil into each other."

"Yeah. Thanks, Pidge," Keith's voice was slightly sheepish.

Lance put his head in his hand and drummed his fingers against his cheek as the pair rapped. He didn't like that his friends were suddenly jumping at the chance to back up Keith and all of his ideas. He knew they probably thought they were being nice, but to him, they were just sucking up. He had plenty of opinions, and he was never asked about any of them. He could make a full-out list of all of the times he'd been turned down or questioned warily, but not once had one of his friends aspired to take his side.

Lance groaned. "Okay,  _fine_." 

He summoned his bayard, a bit awkwardly due to having to use his left arm. He gripped the weapon in his hands, and he could feel it subconsciously asking him to turn into his blaster. As he pulled his arm backwards he felt no fear. The Red Lion was ceaselessly still, and he now knew the true meaning behind its aggression. He thought back to all the times Red had saved Keith from the hands of death. He remembered his team being left in the dark when Keith and Shiro visited the Blade of Marmora headquarters, and having nothing but worry flood his veins while the lion attacked, trying to save its paladin. That loyalty was unbreakable, but now it was being ignored and mistreated. Lance recognized that the Red Lion had finally accepted its situation and was ready stop pushing him away.

He plugged his bayard into the awaiting slot and turned it with force. A new screen popped up next to Lance and the lion's pressure went up on the stats. The sharp red sword came to life at the tip of the Red Lion's mouth. Its teeth clamped down on the handle and the blade grew enormously from the top. 

_Thanks, Red._

He hoped that some of the lions unfaltering faith could eventually be centered at him.

He pulled one of the navigation handles, allowing Red to turn to its side and aim at the ground beneath it. Keith and Pidge guided the Green Lion to the sword and it grappled the handle. At the same time, Lance and Pidge danced their fingers on control pads, heaving the large sword towards the ground as Voltron lowered itself. The weapon pierced the rocky earth with ease, making a deep gash in the landscape. Lance was surprised at the swords power, he wondered if Keith's bayard had similar properties.

Hunk and Allura activated their blasters and hot fire was released from Voltron's backside and feet, sending it flying in a giant circle. 

By this time, the monsters had been liberated from their tangle, and were now closely keeping an eye on Voltron's wake. They jetted around the snakes with the sword deeply plunged into the ground. Soon enough, a huge water-less moat was created.

Lance watched his surroundings as they flew, he took the in the hard earth under him cutting cleanly like soft butter, and the seemingly small stalagmites that passed the Red Lion. He also got a good look at the body of the un-moving snakes as he passed their bodies. He saw that their opening and closing flaps weren't just pathways for them to breathe, they were easy passages to the whole inside of their body. Every time the sword grooved too close to one of the snakes' frames they would tense up, and their flaps would snap shut. 

When Voltron came full-circle it paused and stood outside its carving in Guacairs surface. The beasts growled at them and slithered over each other, but didn't attempt to break through their newly made trap, which should have been easy. They both stood tall, hissing in displeasure. This sight is what got Lance thinking.

He guessed his friends were each taking their time examining their foe, since they appeared to have all the time in the world. They were most likely putting the most complex plans together and filing out equations in their heads. Lance, however, was fixed on a simple idea, that was centered around the many openings in the snake monsters' bodies. 

"Guys, I have a crazy idea," He announced, loud and proud. 

He received no feedback at first, but after a moment he heard Allura's wary voice respond to him. "That's never a good sign."

"Ha ha, very funny. I'm serious this time, I think I know how to beat them," He said, his eyes still focused on the creatures.

Hunk sighed. "Well, I got nothing. Shoot."

Lance smiled to himself. For once his teammates actually seemed open to hearing him out. "Okay, those snake-things don't have outside weaknesses, right? So the only way to beat them is to attack under the surface."

Pidge hummed in thought. "And how do we do that?"

"Easy," He replied quickly. "Their little flaps, they don't just let them breathe. When we were flying I got a nice look at them, there's a whole world of nasty stuff under there. All we need to do is force them to keep it open, and then fire."

"Alright. But we're too big to do any damage without cutting them in half," Keith stated.

Lance bit his lip. "I know, which is why we won't be Voltron when we attack. The lion's are small enough to shoot at them without causing any major breakage."

Hunk was the next one to find a gap in his plan. "They're immune to temperature, what if we start attacking, and then we end up doing no damage? We'll be snake food!"

"Do I have to explain everything? Jeez. If Allura and I hit them with fire  _and_ ice at the same time, they won't stand a chance. We'll create some kind of chemical imbalance and then bam! Science, explosions, death...the works." Lance grinned, his plan was pretty flawless if he did say so himself.

In contradictory to that thought, his teammates were strangely quiet. Their problem wasn't that they didn't comprehend what he was saying, Lance explained his logic in basically every way possible, and he was 90% sure he was speaking English. He didn't understand why he wasn't receiving any applause for his discovery. Even though his plan wasn't intricate, it worked. So why weren't his friends saying a word?

Lance tried to push for an answer, "Um-are we doing this? 'Cause me and Red are ready to rumble."

"We are," Pidge stated, sounding somewhat shocked. "I mean, I don't see why we wouldn't, your plan's seemingly perfect. I think we're just surprised it was _you_ that came up with it. I didn't even think you knew what a 'chemical imbalance' was."

Allura mumbled something in accordance to her statement.

Lance shrugged off the small offense that affected him as the green paladin spoke. Instead of dwelling on what his friends thought of him intellectually, he laughed. "Well duh. That's why _i'm_ the smart one."

"Okay, then," Keith said, his voice monotone. "Let's do it. Team-"

"Wait. Can I say it?", the blue paladin interrupted. He knew he was asking for a lot, Keith was  _seriously_ possessive of his authority, especially when it came to Lance's protests.

He heard his rival take in a deep breathe, and then release it patiently. "Why not?"

Lance smirked and raised his left hand over his control pad, letting it linger there for a second. " _Team separate!_ "

With that, under the watchful sets of eyes of their adversarys, the paladins separated their lions in a flash of light. Lance slammed his hand down on his keypad, knowing that whatever order of buttons he pressed would lead to the result he wanted. Before he knew it, Red was back in its original lion form flying in circles towards the sky. 

"Pidge, I need you to work on tying the snakes together. Hunk, help me at the heads; we can't let them tense up. Lance and Allura, do your thing, but make sure you don't miss the target," Keith instructed. He was somber, but also energized and ready.

Those first two orders weren't in Lance's plan, they weren't bad, however he didn't appreciate Keith trying to call the shots for a strategy that was his own. 

Still, he figured saving Guacair was more important than his objections. As long as he was able to save people from twisted fates it didn't matter how it happened, or who's idea it was. He veered Red to a stop an looked down upon the creatures he now knew how to defeat. They had backed themselves up into a defensive curl around each other, their flaps continuously peeling and exposing sensitive interiors. 

They hissed and growled each time one of the lions passed by, their huge untrained eyes flickering back and forth. The Black Lion soared around the heads the beasts with the Yellow Lion trailing behind, it was obvious they were getting dizzy. Every time one of them made a dazed jerk Keith would fire an energy blast from his lion's two back canons, while Hunk clumsily dived away from the attack.

"Hunk, you're gonna have to shoot at them!", Keith called, frustrated.

Hunk let out a sharp heave. "I know man but-argh-my lion isn't the fastest," he answered.

Lance pulled his navigation handles and sent his lion into a nosedive. He swerved on the way down to avert Hunk as his lion jumped off of the purple snake's nose, which made it holler in frustration. He met up with Allura and they flew in sync around the giant tails of the monsters while Pidge passed by them, sailing the opposite way. She released her vegetation upon the foe keeping them locked to each other while they were occupied with Keith and Hunk. One time the Green Lion was smacked by the red snake squirming in place and got whirl winded backwards.

"Lance, we have to shoot now," Allura said, her voice was deadly serious.

Lance pushed his navigation handles and flew until Red was hovering directly in front of the purple snake's center with the princess directly on its other side.

" _Don't miss!_ ", Pidge shouted as she tied the creatures' tails together.

"Chill out, I got it," Lance said, his tone more relaxed then he actually felt.

_You're the sharpshooter, remember? You can do this._

He knew from the silence that Allura was concentrating just as hard as he was. He counted in his head as the flaps on the backside of the beast opened slowly, and time began to slow down. 

_Three._

His hands shook, he knew he was a good shot, but that didn't take away from the suppressed anxiety in his mind. What if he missed? He  _couldn't_ let his team down, not now. He wouldn't prove their suspicions over his mediocrity. But his arm, it was weak and unstable, there was no way he would be able to pull through. It would be just like every other time he'd tried to be of help. Or would it? When he and Shiro infiltrated Beta Traz, he saved Slav no problem, and he had been more anxious than he could've ever imagined.

 _Two._  

Lance cracked his knuckles on the handles and pulled them backwards, biting his lip. He closed his eyes and hoped for the best while trying to connect to Red at the same time. It accepted his request and began to build up its fire. The control room grew exceedingly hot and the blue paladin felt beads of sweat drip down his forehead under his helmet. He gulped.

_One._

"Allura, now!"

Lance thrust his navigation handles forwards with all of his might. The numbness of his injury had begun to fade and every muscle in his shoulder and back screamed, he did his best to throw that pain away. 

The openings in the snake spread apart perfectly, revealing the monster's inner body. At the same exact time fire and ice blasted from the mouths of the Red and Blue lions. Lance let out a determined grunt and pushed even harder. His flame entered several slots in the snake's body and instead of ceasing, the energy just kept coming. 

The mixture of ice and fire did indeed cause a reaction inside of the beast. It tensed up and its flaps closed. It didn't move for a few moments, before undergoing a series of seizures while releasing gusts of steam from its mouth. It made hideous chocking noises as it flailed and fumbled. Its purple brethren turned from Hunk and Keith and faced its twin, annoyed. The red snake fell on top of the other one and caused them both to cascade to the ground. The eyes of the creature faded to black and its body relaxed. 

Lance's plan  _worked_.

Without thinking he fleeted to the purple monster who lay thrashing under its dead family. It seemed furious, roars escaped its mouth uncontrollably, shaking the inside of Guacair. The Blue Lion pulled up next to Lance, while the other lions continued to scratch at its face. Once again, the reptilian was distracted and its skin was left freely opening and closing. 

He waited once more, when he saw the perfect chance he shot his fire without even signaling Allura, he was sure the two were on the same page. The princess let out a croak over the intercom as she discharged Blue's chilled power. The two outbursts combined to make a column of flame and ice which entered their opponent easily. 

Soon enough, the snake followed the same pattern as its twin and passed out completely, its eyes pitch black. 

Lance's eyes widened at the sight in front of him. "We did it...", he whispered. "We did it! _Está volao!_ " He sprung from his chair broke into an animated and celebratory dance. He hummed a heartwarming song to himself as he swaggered his hips back and forth, his arms swayed high in the air. Eventually, he gave up on his little song and chanted for his own greatness. "Awe yeah, who's the best? It's Lance. I'm the best!", he hollered to his hearts content and laughed without anything being funny. He was so blissful that he managed to absolutely dismiss his agonizing torment in his right shoulder. 

He had been positive that he'd fail and be a disappointment once more. Lance couldn't believe the Red Lion had actually worked with him without giving him negativity. His excitement couldn't be contained, his friends commemorated in their own way as well. Pidge squealed in joy, Hunk muttered about what he'd be cooking later on to celebrate, and Keith and Allura congratulated each other calmly on their tactics and maneuvers.

Lance's joy was paused by the sudden burst of the twin snakes disintegrating into emerald dust in front of the still hovering Red Lion. He leaned his arms on his keypad and gazed at the sight. The beasts were utterly evaporated, and their remains swirled and whisked through the atmosphere. At first Lance thought the particles were being whipped around by some type of wind, but soon he realized that they were moving on their own. It was if they were programmed.

The symbol that formed before the lions was strange. It looked almost like a gaped face, with two double sided horns at the top that each led to an elongated fang. Lance didn't think much of it except for the fact that magic flying specks weren't very normal. However, after getting a good look at the picture that was created, he realized that he knew what the sign meant.

Hunk gulped. "Guys, is it just me or-"

"I knew it," Keith interrupted.

"No," Pidge said. "They've never done anything like this before."

Allura came on the radio next, her voice was deadly, but it also shook in agitation. Her heavy accent became extremely evident in her words. "What else did you expect?"

The floating emblem immediately started blaring, it changed from red to green rapidly. A huge crash came from the overhead blackness, and huge icicle-like stalactites came collapsing to the ground. Lance dropped into his seat instantaneously and ran his hand across one of his side icons. He pushed the navigation handles and careened Red left and right to avoid the fast-falling debris with amazing agility. 

Red wavered at a second rumble that resounded from the voided sky along with more rocky ebbing. In a sudden change of scenery a huge hole was blasted high above the lions. Immediately lava started pouring into the inner part of Guacairs layers, turning the atmospheric temperature from chillingly cool to scorching. Lance's sweat increased and began to come out in pools, his breathing quickened. 

He wasn't able to move, he could only stare at the gaping whole that now acted as an entryway for dozens of fleets. Purple warships broodingly made their way into the home of the Cairans, creeping closer and closer to the lions of Voltron. Each had abstract cannons and guns that blazed and aimed everywhere in sight. 

"Well," Lance said, his steady voice faltering. "The Galra have entered the building."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, another cliff hangar. I feel so bad to leave it off like this but cliff hangars are really exciting so I guess it it's okay.  
> If you like it please leave kudos or comments on what you think, I really like to see feedback.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, see you next chapter!


	6. Act Brave for Me

Lance just wanted a break.

Sure, only hours before he'd been waiting incessantly for some type of action, but now he was just plain sick of it. He reminded himself to be grateful for peace the next time the universe gifted it to him. 

Lance had to forcibly shut his mouth to stop it from hanging open. Garla ships came pooling into Guacair like a flood. In a mere few moments after the blast transipired at least 30 fleets were attacking the inside of the planet, each one looking precisely like the last. The shade of purple that laced the warships was bloodcurdling, it was made even more so by the molten lava that cataracted around them. Sharp edges and complex points stuck out from the main sector of the vessels.

The numbers stopped once a final warship entered through the newly made breach in the planet's surface. The last ship was a gothic castle made of tall, connected pinnacles and flanking towers, each with a sharp spire at the top. In contrast to its purple underlings the huge castle ship was a mossy green with lilac lights being diffused from the point of each tower creating a glamorous light show. Lance thought it looked like the anti version of the Castle of Lions.

The formation the fleet assembled was one Lance couldn't recognize. Half of the ships were set up in a dispersed in a giant circle around their gaudy superior, while the rest hovered at its highest peak, like a spiked halo.

"That's...new," Hunk croaked out, his voice hoarse.

The cannons and pistols continued to blaze with large combustions of flame, causing pieces of crust to fall and come apart. The only thing that didn't cause any damage to Guaciar's terrain was the warship at center command. By this point Lance deduced that the supreme vessel was meant more for a showcase than an actual battle. 

Keith cleared his throat of any apprehension. "We need the Castle of Lions. Contact Coran."

The paladins each pulled up holographic screens with signalling swipes. A depiction of the castle's bridge was presented in front of Lance instantly. However, Coran was nowhere to be found. His voice echoed into the live feed from behind the closed entrance of the room. What the mechanic was saying was too muffled to make out, but it was clear he was distressed. Lance guessed the Cairans weren't acting as picture-perfect guests.

A few yards away from the Red Lion, the Black Lion arched its back and roared violently at the scene in front of it, clawing at the air. Keith was preparing for a fight.

"We can't just sit around and wait while the Galra destroy Guacair. First, we take these fleets down. Then, we pay the Cairans a visit, I have a few words for Batbaun." The sound of a hand smacking aggressively against a hard surface followed Keith's words. The Black Lion lurched forward and broke into a fast flight towards the attacking ships. "I can't believe I let that pile of pebbles lie straight to my face," Keith grumbled through clenched teeth. His tone alone displayed the amount of outrage that was loaded inside of him.

"Don't let that get to you, that isn't what matters right now," Allura tried to calm him as she guided Blue into a quick shuttle, the lion's tail swished back and forth as if trying to navigate underwater. "Besides, we cannot be sure if he even knew those creatures were Galra." 

The red paladin laughed, belittling her attempt at sticking up for the Cairan leader.

Pidge and Hunk started up their lions as well, sending them into similar trajectory patterns as the Black Lion. Lance pushed on his navigation handles causing Red to enter a forensic flight. It hummed in his head in complaint. He felt bad sending Red into battle after battle. If he felt tired from fighting, he could only dream of how exhausted his lion was. 

"So," Pidge stated. "Just like old times?"

Lance shook his head. As much as he longed to return to the fighting style the team used with Shiro as their leader, he knew they couldn't. Team Voltron weren't the only ones who changed. He had no clue about what was going on in Galra central command, but he knew that their ways were being completely conformed. "Shouldn't we aim at that big, scary ship in the middle?", He suggested.

Hunk murmured in compliance. "We _should_ try something new. There's a lot of fleets, maybe instead of taking them all on at once we could divide and conquer?"

"Hunk's right," Keith said. 

Lance objected with a grumble, "I'm the one that said we needed to attack their main ship."

He moved his head towards the acceleration monitor. He pressed the buttons on his handles with his thumbs, and in return Red advanced its momentum. His eyes never left the giant castle at the center of the Galra formation. As laid back as Lance was, he couldn't block out the hatred that overwhelmed every one of his senses. 

Galra.

Such a wretched word, it physically tugged at Lance's heart strings every time the name of his enemy was spoken. He thought about all of the despicable things the race had done. They destroyed Allura's home and the homes of millions of others, they've ended countless lives, and not to mention what they did to Shiro. Lance felt his blood begin to boil as he thought about his lost hero.

Takashi Shirogane, the man he looked up to for years, no one could compare to is levelheadedness. He was so  _perfect_ that Lance couldn't help but be captivated. He always had the right plans, always knew what to say. Despite his missing bits and pieces he still made everyone he met feel whole. That's what Lance strove for his entire life, and suddenly he was up close and personal with someone who was able to teach him how to do that. 

He clutched his handles tighter. His mind couldn't leave the team's rightful leader.

_Shiro._

_Shiro._

_Where are you?_

Those thoughts wouldn't disappear from his mind, and his heart began to race as he approached the firing Galra fleets. Blasts of energy fired past the Red Lion and he managed to dodge them all. His friends called the blue paladin's name over the intercom but he was too far up in space to truly care. Screw Keith's wishes. How dare he ask Lance to hide his worry?

Lance cared too. The red paladin wasn't the only one that had a connection to Shiro. Even though he had known him personally, just the story of Shiro had helped Lance get through the Garrison. Week after week when he was forced to stare at Keith's name at the top of every class and see his in dead last, he would watch Shiro from a distance. As he walked and talked to every student as if they were equals, soon after he began to collect little snippets of articles about his life. It helped him become inspired. 

Red parried and twirled around Galra ships with its jaw blade out. Lance wasn't focused enough to do any serious damage to the firing vessels, however, he did manage to inflict small gashes. 

Lance solely payed attention to the hovering castle in front of him and the secrets it could hold. He took note as small details grew clearer and clearer. The castle-ship was obviously brand new, the only flaws he could see were newly made by the many weapons firing across the formation. He fathomed that the armory sub commanders would pay for those repercussions with their lives.

Galra vessels passed Lance's line of vision in a blur. He finessed his right hand over one of Red's control panels, flinching back from an abrupt pain in his arm. He cried out from the tender torture, the numbing of his wound had completely faded and he was left in a heap of spasms and shouts. Despite that, Lance still succeeded in piloting Red forward.

The inflicting hurt from Lance's shock began to drift to the back of his mind as he felt the Red Lion's subconscious penetrate his own and soothe his infliction. His breathing slowed, but the pressure he placed on the navigation handles only increased. With the lion's strength Lance was able to get a grip on his surroundings. He didn't even realize that several Galra fleets had turned their attention to him, Red was just too fast to take any damage.

The calls of Lance's teammates finally reached his ears, except they weren't yelling out for him, they were shouting orders and exclaims of encouragement to each other. The Yellow Lion soared around the top of their enemy's formation trying, and failing, to stop the slow running lava. Lance knew even if the team _did_   put a stop to the Galra's attacks the scorching magma would surely destroy Guacair.

Pidge's lion wasn't in his line of vision, however, her grunts of determination sounded over the radio. Booms and crashes pulsed into Lance's ears each time she released a vicious and hostile shout.

Hunk grunted as he fragmented rubble from the borders of the rocky planet's surface, and pelted them towards the breach made by the Galra. He managed to have some avail, for the hole greatly decreased in size, but the lava only kept flowing with more capillarity. Alongside him was Allura in the Blue Lion, attempting tirelessly to cover the molten liquid with the lion's ice beam. However, the second the chilled ice made contact with the lava it burst into a puffed cloud of steam.

In the distance, Lance caught sight of the Black Lion swooping and diving like a raven. It blended in perfectly with the darkness only to be illuminated by bright explosions around it. Keith attacked the Galra mercilessly and with an excessive fury that was obviously shown in the vigorous movements of his lion. Shots of energy fired from the Black Lion's canons relentlessly, while at the same time its double jaw blade was activated and slicing up the sides of Galra fleets.

Lance took a quick moment to awe at his teammate's skills. He didn't even know it was possible to use different weapons at the same time, it had only been a week since Keith starting piloting the Black Lion regularly and he was already excelling great feats.

He didn't allow himself much time to watch his friends' movements before his eyes fell back upon the huge castle-ship that he could only believe was the new center command. 

He was certain the castle held information about Shiro, it was the only plausible answer to his disappearance, and if Keith wasn't going to address their missing leader than Lance was obliged to do it himself.

The Red Lion sped through the air, its body aiming towards the immense doors that acted as an entryway for the formidable stronghold. The scanners on the screen in front of Lance showed almost no threats headed his way. The only thing he truly needed to worry about was the subsiding remains of discharged Galra vessels that fell around him. A sense of wariness put an invisible load on his shoulders and he began to doubt his decision, although he knew he wouldn't be stopping short any time soon.

His breath hitched as he neared the castle and saw a changed in the atmosphere. At the poles of the ornate fortress, bright hexagon's lined up against each other in perfect formation, leaving no gaps or faults. It was the same formation that provided durable protection for the Castle of Lions numerous times, except stronger. Lance could tell as much from the doubled illumination and size of the particle barrier.

He raised the surge of pressure he put unto his navigation handles to a point where he felt a vein bulge out of his forehead. Red managed to fly at an even faster rate, he sensed his strain mixing with the lion's in an anxious harmony. The barrier closed in rapidly, and both of the generating sides found each other, cutting Red's flight off as it sealed the castle-ship from the war that was undergoing around it.

Red battered into the hastily made force field, reflecting off of it as if it had collided with an enormous trampoline. Undeterred, Lance forced the weight of his body onto the navigation handles for a second time, and activated Red's blasters once more. Again, he collided with the shielding barrier and rebounded off the surface with an aching groan. 

Lance was determined to put an end to the force that prevented him from coming into contact with the castle. His harsh yearning to defeat the physical and emotional blockade that fought against his unending wishes and attempts wiped away all reason from his mind.

Much to the Red Lion's dismay, Lance allowed his left hand to explore the attributes of his keypad, playing with buttons and maneuvers as if it were some type of alien instrument. His crazed blue eyes roamed over data tables, searching to pull more flames from every hidden corner of the lion. He ignored the accumulating clammy liquid that dripped down his body, and didn't feel the need the need to detach the strands of chocolate brown hair that stuck to his neck and forehead. 

A warning blaze transmitted from the walls of the control room, blinding Lance's senses with more electric red light than he could handle. He tensed his thumbs on the navigation handles and released the stored up heat and friction. A seething inferno blossomed from Red's mouth like a rose.

It poured across the side of the particle barrier in a wave, prior to flowing down to the earth where it dissipated from what remained of the cooled atmosphere. Lance moved his hand to repeat the process of heating and firing, but before any such action could be executed he was stopped in his tracks by the pulsing of his wound and was left by Red to his own devices. It beat rapidly as if someone had infected it with pure adrenaline. Each throb sent a sharp stab throughout his body, pulling him away from his one-sided battle with the force field. 

The lion had stopped alleviating his pain, and every knotty breath he took felt abnormally difficult. He let his hand linger in the air above the keypad, he was too afraid to shift his arm from the tense position it was in. 

"Hey...Keith?", Lance croaked.

Grunts and commands came over the radio, but other than that no response could be heard. Each paladin was locked in their own battle and Lance's voice was too tiny and stiff to overcome the excessive distractions. 

He tried to raise his volume and make his clutched situation known to his friends. The unsteady vibrations of his vocal chords only made his pain worse, in a quick motion he released any agitated nerves that kept his arm afloat and brought it down to his side, it was like ripping off a band-aid. Except that bandage was the only thing keeping Lance's need to scream in check.

He surrendered to his injury and discharged a wince-inducing wail. The cry took over all other noise that drummed into Lance's ears, cutting off Keith's loosely worded orders or Allura's disgruntled comments of grit. A migraine began to form in his head, this rued sensation was what Lance had been dreading to face. He hoped he would've been able to hold out for longer than he actually had, but without the constant support of the Red Lion acting like a strainer for his pain he couldn't even come close to defeating what made him fragile.

The Red Lion didn't make an effort to speed off from the battle or leave its kin in the dust, it only drifted in place, limiting Lance to a rather hindering sight of the Galra particle barrier that he had no chance of pursuing. The blue paladin rotated his head in the slightest and most unnoticeable way, trying his best to keep his tortured shoulder in check. In a flash, the Green Lion skyrocketed past Red. Lance was blinded by the momentary encounter with the lion's bright, intimidating eyes and felt a touch of confusion as to what Pidge was aiming to do in such a rush.

At the bow of the control room a new screen popped up, taking over much of Lance's visual. It presented a view of the backside of the lion, a tail flickered back and forth in the feed as a pressuring Galra ship approached at a steady speed. While he watched, Lance couldn't help but let his immature mind wonder where the camera that showed him the scene behind the Red Lion was located. 

Coming from the side of the lion, Pidge entered the screen. The Green Lion's back hunched over and its shield developed an alluring green glow. An intense beam of vitality emerged from the beast's snout, targeted at the nearing vessel. Greenery sprouted from all sides of the Galra ship, it overtook every weapon that was on the verge of attacking Red. Valuable bits and pieces decayed off of the main port and fell from the dark inner-sky. 

"Lance, you alright?", the green paladin asked, concern engulfing her voice. Lance thanked whatever otherworldly power that had blessed him with the gift of Pidge. She always came to the rescue with her brilliant mind and quick thinking.

Lance's voice returned to an audible degree, however the sense of burden in his tone remained. "I'm all good. It's just Red, she-"

"Did she shock you again?", Keith interrupted. He sounded particularly distracted, which didn't come as a surprise to Lance, as they were in the middle of a battle, or his friends were at least. 

Lance cleared his throat, Nah, it's my shoulder. I can't pilot without her helping me, she stopped when I hit the particle barrier."

Hunk grunted as the Yellow Lion fired one of its defensive cannons. "Well why don't you, I dunno, try talking to her?"

Lance squeezed his eyes shut, he was never very good at initiating conversations, especially telepathic ones with magical, flying space-cats. Normally, he'd crack a dumb joke and hope for the best reactions. He took in a deep breath, letting calming oxygen progress through his body. Lance would have to make a compromise away from his usual habits if he was going to win back the assistance of the Red Lion.

That was something he became aware of in the midst of piloting Red; how easily the lion could be impelled away. Lance's goal wasn't to control the Red Lion, or use it as some kind of slave. Though he may not have been as sure of himself as Keith, or as reasonable as Allura, he still yearned to do good, and a part of that was treating whichever lion he was piloting with respect. 

Lance allowed that want to enter the open air without obstruction, and an invisible source released his thoughts into an unknown plane. It was as if his mind were his mind were a hive with a swarm of unruly bee's inside. 

_Hey. Earth to Red?_

No response.

Lance squeezed his eyes tighter still, urging the currently silent and unequal bond that he and Red forged in the previous battle. He loathed the silent treatment, the endless quiet abuse made him feel incredibly secluded and envious. In the past, whenever he'd upset one of his siblings or cousins, they would punish him with the isolating method until he broke and apologized. It was one of the only ways someone could truly vex Lance, and the Red Lion seemed to know that fact somehow.

_Okay, Okay. I'm sorry I rammed you into the particle barrier, alright? But I can't do this without you._

Lance had also come to discover that Red didn't enjoy flattery very much, which was a shame because being a diligent flirt was one of Lance's strong points. Allura, of course, would second that statement in a heartbeat.

_Tell me what to do, girl. How do we get past this thing? I'm all ears._

Slowly but surely his mind developed a steady thump. It was the rhythmic sensation of the Red Lion reviving itself. Lance visibly relaxed as he felt the weight of his infliction gradually be lifted off his shoulders. He sighed in relief, "I owe you one."

In the confines of his mind, the blue paladin sensed a new presence and his eyes went wide. Suddenly, he saw from the lens of the legendary Red Lion, he had never been able to do such a thing with Blue before. He recollected remaining in the hangar after practice, trying desperately to conform his mentality so that he and his lion could have a deep enough connection to be capable of achieving a single line of vision. The first time the team experimented with that ability Lance was too busy competing against Keith to genuinely put his all into training, which he regretted in the ensuing hours of the day.

The Red Lion shifted its gaze toward the bright copper lava that continued to permeate into Guacair's center, and everything looked round and mindbogglingly three dimensional. Immediately an assumption rose to the front of Lance's mind, like a light bulb brightening up every other thought he was currently having. 

If the Blue Lion's power was heightened by water, and the Green Lion was likewise with earthy environments, then how would Red react to heat? Lance wasn't sure. He knew well how hot volcanic magma was, he'd been bound to study it numerous times during middle school and even at the Garrison. If he had to take a guess about the outcome of flying his lion head first into pooling lava, he'd say he would burn alive in a matter of seconds. However, Red wasn't opposing his incoming interpretation which meant he couldn't be wrong, unless the lions of Voltron were able develop a death-wish. 

Without giving the inclination much thought, Lance drove the navigation handles forward with force, almost breaking them due to his unexpected comfortable mobility. He was surprised by how suddenly carefree his movements were while piloting Red. Ever since Lance had figured out the true reason behind the lion's onslaught, his mood had adjusted to be increasingly more positive, and he had only come to the significant realization a short while before.

The Red Lion charged towards the magma that Hunk was still trying to put an end to. The lion swirled in place as it dived into the substance. Lance couldn't physically feel the lava, but from what he could tell the density was strangely thin. He glanced to his left and saw that on one of the data charts that Red was instinctively moderating its inner temperature, and the droplets of sweat that trilled down his cheeks were immersed by his skin.

The instant the surface of the Red Lion touched the hot molten rock the control room's front screen turned a brazen scarlet color. Every status in the control room amplified to impossible ranks. On every informative screen, numbers promptly switched and interchanged. The lava ignited a fire under the Red Lion, filling it with even more speed and power than it already attained. 

Red burst from the slag waterfall in an explosion of coal and heatwaves. Without Lance doing any part as its pilot, the lion soared towards the twenty or so Galra ships that remained untouched at light speed. New levers grew up from the control panel in front of Lance, catching him off guard. Red continued to fly in circles around the Galra fleet, waiting for further instructions, when none came it sent low growl resonating into its pilots ears. 

A playful smirk found its way to Lance's lips and he let a mischievous snicker leave his mouth. "Now we're talkin'."

He set his curiosity completely free, no restraints, and his hands roamed over all of his new, fancy buttons and pedals. The lion twisted and turned in and out of Galra ships, firing the biggest inferno Lance had ever seen. The column of flame shot farther and with more energy than it ever had before, even with Keith.

After the destruction of about two vessels, the Galra began to take the presence of the Red Lion into consideration. Huge weapons of all shapes emerged from the tops of the ships and aimed toward Lance. Each cannon leaked a mystical fluid that Lance could only presume was quintessence. A great shot of yellow energy materialized from the heads of the alien firearms. Despite the accuracy and gall of the Galra, their power was no match for the newfound ignition of Red.

It swooped and curved, circumnavigating what was left of the fleets formation. Lance laughed and howled with bliss and excitement over his accomplishment.

He had completely ignored his fellow paladins in his bliss, only remembering that they were a valid part of the battle when Hunk spoke up.

"Lance? What are you doing?", he asked. His friend was for some kind of affirmation for where the blue paladin's new confidence derived from, and where his imagination might be headed.

Lance grinned, "Me? I'm just getting started."

Keith was the next one to address him, his voice rough and mindful, "I like that you're fighting, but I've never seen Red do that. Watch what you're doing, man."

Lance couldn't bite back his chuckle. He liked that he'd been able to experience something with Red that Keith had never gotten the chance to. He'd never admit it, but he secretly wanted to make the red paladin jealous, even more than Lance himself had felt towards the rest of the team in recent days. He didn't get why his rival wasn't a fan of his new power. With it, he could easily tear through the Galra's particle barrier and possibly even learn about Shiro's whereabouts.

_Hear that, Red? Your darling Keith doesn't want us to fight. I can't believe you ever let that chicken be your pilot._

Lance stuck in nose in the air as if he could be seen. "Just because your scared of a little burn doesn't mean I am."

With that final statement that left him feeling rather victorious, Lance turned his intercom off, shutting up a very ticked off Keith.

_Come on, lets show them what a little fire can do and break down that barrier. How about it?_

The Red Lion hummed in his head enjoyably. One thing he admired about his lion was its resolve, it was always ready to show others just how awesome it truly was. The lion was also just as willing to be hilariously derisive as Lance which was a plus.

The lion faced the particle barrier once more, and stored power in its blasters. Lance moved his arms forward across the length of his body, making Red depart from its hovering position in a barrage of blue energy and blaze. The lion soared around the sphere completely ignoring the Galra ships that were advancing on the other lions.

Lance knew his friends were perfectly adequate enough to defeat the vessels on their own, and considering the number of ships that still remained he figured that forming Voltron wouldn't have been the greatest idea anyways. Besides, the team was vastly familiar with the expected armada that Voltron regularly faced in battle, the only worry on his mind was the castle that still had yet to make a move on the attacking Red Lion.

Lance smiled slyly as dark open space passed his line of vision. Red mentally advised him to discharge its already accumulating firepower, and Lance was happy to comply. An outbreak of Altean power was sent straight into the Galra force field that acted as an entire protectorate for the castle. The beam ruptured the layer, cutting it in half as if it were soft butter. 

"Yeah! Let's see them keep us out now!", Lance exclaimed. He flew Red into the close atmosphere of the frightening castle-ship. With every increasing second that the lion grew nearer to the castle Lance's adrenaline increased. Little to no phenomenon was undergoing around him, and yet the small growing hope that he might get to be the one to find Shiro made his heart beat fast with potential self-pride. 

The purple glow being exerted from the castle put a slight damper on Lance's confidence, however he did not let that affect his concentration. The close proximity that Red permitted him to have with the adjoining spires on the castle allowed him to gain a new perspective. This unfamiliar point of view allowed Lance to notice prevailing details that he didn't get the chance to note beforehand. 

He paused his focused flying to take an effective look at little carvings engraved on the gleaming silvery-green walls of the castle's citadels, and he voluntarily gave his assent for the Red Lion to drift and dash around the steeples. The symbols appeared to be some type of Galra language, Lance was only able to make such an inference from dealing with the highly complicated Altean language. Each numeral consisted of strict, connecting lines that were too straight for even a ruler to make.

Lance wasn't even aware that the Galra had a language, whenever he'd spoken to a commander they would always say the same thing; ' _Dying in the name of Galra is the greatest honor,_ ' or ' _The only things that will stop me are victory or death_ _,_ ' in their best 50-year-old-smoker voice. It was amusing thinking about how the language of the most disciplined warriors in the universe would sound. Lance suspected it would consist of a series of grunts and growls, later on he would have to ask Keith just for laughs. 

Red halted in the air, propelling the blue paladin from his chair. He rolled as he hit the ground, trying to reenact one of his favorite action movies where the protagonist reeled to safety after being thrown from a five story building. His horizontal spin wasn't very graceful, he'd forgotten how little room he was provided with in the control room and he banged his head forcibly against one of his navigation handles.

He propped his elbows onto the seat of the chair, hoisting himself back up to discern why Red had stopped flying. After finding his balance once again Lance leaned over his many key pads and caught a glimpse of what was below him. 

A consecutive line was drawn at the center of a large, strangely flat space at the well-hidden heart of the castle's gable, cutting it in half. Lance used what was left of his common sense to decipher that the crack was a major entrance to the castle's center, which could also introduce him to a gold mine of Galra tactics and information. Who knows what Voltron could accomplish if he acquired that knowledge; his team would adore him. He smiled to himself at the thought.

Lance faced the entrance of the control room and took off in a steady amble. He didn't have an exact plan, but then again he never did, and its not as if having a dubious scheme had ever gotten him into trouble before. 

He passed the bewildering rose colored lights without giving his metaled surroundings much thought. The lion opened its mouth as he walked, allowing for green light to interrupt the endless sea of red. For once, Lance was able to leave the Red Lion without feeling disgruntled or frustrated, his mind was set on what he wanted and there was nothing that would stop him from getting it.

Except the giant sealed doors that he had absolutely no idea how to open.

He stepped on the ground, taking a minute to get used to the estranged makeup of the castle. The texture of the ground beneath him was incredibly solid, but in a way that made him feel light. It was the same sensation one would get after walking on the ground right after using a treadmill. He paced back and forth, his eyes never leaving the thin fissure in the ground. 

The entrance was closed tight, Lance knew as much after getting on his knees and trying to pry it open with his bare hands. The castle-ship was definitely a stronghold. He looked at either side of the spread of castle. There was no button to press, or puzzle to solve.

Lance was stuck.

Placing his hands on his hips, he turned back to Red, getting ready for another round of flight. Although, when he faced the giant beast he saw that it was already preparing itself for lift off, but without Lance. 

The lion stood on his four legs, eyes glowing bright. Its mouth was snapped closed, and it showed no sign of wanting to let its pilot inside.

Lance cocked his head, "Uh..."

His voice trailed off from the confusing spectacle of Red activating its back blasters and hovering on its own. Lance didn't even know the lions _could_  do that. The lion turned in its place in mid-air, facing Guacair's Galra-made breach. In a flash it took off, carving out a nonstop pattern in the darkness. Lance ran after Red in its wake as it flew straight out of the planet.

He leaned over the side of the castle, holding onto the side of a hulking tower that emitted excess quintessence.

"Whoa," was all the blue paladin could muster while peering down at a long, long drop to the ground. He inclined his head to where the Red Lion had just vanished. He half expected to be returned to the rigid state he had been in when the lion abandoned him mentally. However, he was surprised to find that he was completely fine, besides being stranded on an enemy fortress.

He was able to understand why the Red Lion left him without any form of goodbye when the opening in the concealed area began to open with an intimidating creak. In a rush, Lance hooked both of his arms around the leaking tower, shuffling around until his body was unseen and dangling completely off the side of the castle. He took in small hushed breaths, that moment would not have been a good time for Red to re-gift him with the pain of his injury.

From that terrifying angle, Lance was able to see the depleting numbers of the large Galra vessels. The Yellow and Green Lions aviated past him at speeds his mind couldn't comprehend, releasing constant blasts of energy from their mouths and tails. Segments of ships fell from the sky like rainfall, and from Lance could tell there were only a few Galra soldiers left.

The ships seemed to go down too easily though. Normally, the members of Team Voltron had to drain their wits and strength to defeat an entire squadron of enemy ships, and the villainous race had always done the same in return. Now, though, each ship seemed to be missing on purpose, and Lance knew well that going down without a fight was  _not_ the Galra way. He didn't think they were being martyrs, exactly, but he guessed the soldiers that were placed on the ships were no longer needed. 

Or maybe they were just trying to distract, maybe the Galra wanted to re-introduce themselves. If Lance had newly inherited the biggest force in the universe he'd undeniably throw himself a huge welcoming party to make his presence known. 

He didn't have the chance to think more on that theory because sprightly fighter jets began to appear from the now open crevice in the top of the castle. They sailed every which way over towers and pinnacles.

_There goes round two._

Lance sighed in relief when the last of the jets left the hidden expanse with him yet to be discovered. He shimmied back around the tower, thankful he had his armor to protect his well-kept skin from getting more damaged than it already was. Panic filled his stomach once he reached the ground and saw the entrance the jets had previously flown out of begin to close. 

The blue paladin ran as fast as his feet could carry him for fear of losing the only opportunity to sneak into the castles interior. He breathing grew heavy, the distance he was running didn't seem as long the first time he crossed it. The moving doors grew closer and closer to each other at a pace that Lance could've sworn was slow motion.

_No!_

He remembered the hope that had filled him when he thought about what excitement and rewards would be waiting for him in the Galra fortification. The few times he had gotten near a Galra command center, Keith had been the one to infiltrate the base while Lance was stuck somewhere safe, having nothing to do but count the quintants that went by.

Like a seeming gift of fate, Lance managed to slip into the impending gateway at the last second. 

He was welcomed by a warm green light, which was contrary to the way he was feeling. His armor automatically sensed his free-fall and activated his jet pack. Leaning forward, Lance was boosted towards a side wall that curved up to form a huge dome. 

The walls were made from the same glistening metallic entity that formed the outside towers. Patterns jutted in and out of the surface Lance stood on in an unsorted arrangement. He grasped onto one of them tightly, facing his body outward so that he could take on his surroundings. The area he found himself in was so plain that it was obtrusive, he reckoned that if there were ever a room to represent his personality it would be that one.

His peek down towards the ground several feet below. Senturies were scattered here and there, but the base wasn't as crowded as he thought it would be. The ground was empty from the lack of fighter jets, the biggest attraction in the room was a large screen that was currently catching the eye of the few living soldiers in the room. 

Lance didn't to admit that he was disappointed, however in some small corner of his mind he was. He had foreseen himself being thrown into a middle of an intense battle between him and his ruthless foe. As he stared down on the scene way beneath him, he would've preferred picking a fight with senior citizens on bingo night.

He couldn't get a visual on what was so interesting to the armored guards from the considerable height he was at, but he could tell it was something interesting. Murmurs migrated up the sides of the chamber walls, making the already unfamiliar atmosphere even more eerie. 

Lance moved his hand to his helmet and turned on his radio. He was still amazed that the Red Lion was still holding their bond from such a grand distance. It didn't come as shock to him when it similar for Keith when he was in danger, but he never would've guessed he and Red would be fighting to keep each other safe on such short notice.

The intercom was strangely quiet once Lance realized that it was actually on. The battle wasn't as hectic as it was when he was participating in the encounter. He knew his friends were fine because they were still talking to each other every few seconds, however they weren't grunting like before. Lance could tell they weren't putting everything they had into the fight, simply because it wasn't needed.

He crouched on his legs, leaning back against the wall. Whispering, he inserted himself into existence, "Hey guys. Guess where I am?"    

A surprised gasp came from one of the paladins from his sudden presence. "Where?", Pidge asked.

Lance snickered, a small pride filling his system. " _Guess_ _!_ "

"We already know where you are, and you're crazy. It was pretty hard to miss," the green paladin answered.

"Lance, are you alright?", Allura asked. 

The blue paladin placed a hand on his hip and grinned devilishly. "I'm fine princess, no need to worry. Just scoping out the enemy."

Her voice drew low. "Good, because the tick we get back to the castle i'm going to stick you in-"

Hunk laughed, cutting her off. "What she means is that you can't just dive into stuff without telling us. You're gonna turn into Keith, dude."

A scowl settled upon Lance's face. He knew Hunk was kidding but he still disliked the phrasing he used. He was  _not_ turning into that jerk.

He shrugged of his friends annoying comment. "Speaking of which, where is the hothead?" 

"He left," Allura replied. "He seemed angered after you broke the particle barrier."

"That's an understatement," Pidge muttered.

Had Lance really made Keith mad enough to leave the group? He didn't see any reason for Keith to be angry at him, its not like he did anything to hurt the team. 

Hunk questioned him, "What's going on in there?"

Lance didn't answer the inquisition right away. He was too busy biting his lip and taking a swim in his thoughts. 

 _"Lance?_ ", Hunk pushed.

He shook his head, blinking a few times. "Oh-um. There's a bunch of Galra looking at some junk on a big screen. I'm, uh, gonna go check it out."

"Wait-"

Lance turned his helmet, once again turning his attention to below him. Nothing had really changed, except now there were one or two more soldiers that Lance wasn't sure how they came to appear in the room, he couldn't see any entrances besides the discernible opening dome in which he'd entered.

Lance broadened his shoulders, causing his jet pack to come alive. His feet lifted off the ground and he centered his body towards the empty space in front of the ledge where he stood. The jet pack sent him flying across the span of open area in a fluid motion, like water pouring from a spout. He landed on the opposite side of the cavern at a lesser altitude. 

He thought that by moving his position he'd be able to get a glimpse at the information being displayed on the distinct screen on the ground, but despite being extremely close to the array the screen appeared to be blurry and discombobulated. His eyes weren't the problem, his mamá had always made sure he ate the proper foods so that he wouldn't loose his perfect vision. It was like the screen was only perceivable to those who had the right to know the information. 

Lance had not come this far to be stopped by a little blur and a glare.

He moved his hand to his thigh, pulling his bayard into reality. Luckily, he was still at a distance where his movements couldn't be heard by ordinary ears. With a light thought the bayard transformed into a glowing gun that fit perfectly in Lance's hands. He held the weapon up to his face carefully, using his eyes to aim directly at the Galra soldier operating the screen. 

Taking in a deep breath, Lance forced his hands to keep perfectly still on his gun's trigger. The only time he found he could keep still was when he was using his bayard. It was like he entered an entirely new state of mind, one where he wasn't exuberant and intrusive, but instead he was balanced. 

He pulled the trigger and the beam of light that was released from the muzzle surged toward its mark with impeccable certainty. Before the blast could reach its target Lance fired another three at the surrounding guards. Each blow hit their destination and sent the Galra soldiers plunging to the ground, unconscious.

_Bulls-eye._

Lance smiled, feeling accomplished. His jet-pack once again boosted him into the air and he glided to the floor beneath him. He walked straight for the large screen at the front of the room. He hoped that as he neared the display it would become more clear to him, nonetheless no matter how close Lance got or what angle he turned his head, he still couldn't make out the information that was perched right in front of his face. It made him feel useless.

He growled and stepped over the comatose Galra. He paused and bent down lifting up the arm of one of them before dropping it loosely. 

_He'll be fine._

Lance faced the screen in front of him, his sapphire eyes running across the strange keypads that powered the array. He wondered if he just let his hands dance over the buttons like he did in the Red Lion, if the Galra technology would work for him. He hands moved uncontrollably across icons and hoped for the best. He saw things moving on the screen but still couldn't make out what they were. 

He eventually gave up on trying to fix his vision problem and attempted to figure out what exactly it was that he was trying to read. He scanned across obscure words and stats until his gaze landed on a picture. Before he could recognize the person in the picture, Lance was stopped by a pull at his shoulder. 

He turned, not expecting to be knocked out by a spray of vapor to the face. His body fell to the floor next to the Galra that he'd previously left paralyzed. He couldn't move, and no frantic thoughts could stop his world from fading to black.

* * *

 

  
When Lance awoke his head was swimming in confusion. Even more so when he sat up and felt the rush of a concussion flood his senses. Amnesia possessed every inch of his minds-cape. The paladin groaned from the pain and pressed at hand to his head gasping in surprise when he realized his helmet was removed. When had that happened? Lance closed his eyes and saw flashing stars, but as soon as he opened them back up it felt like his world was spinning, as if trying to get away from him.  
  
After minutes of sitting in dizzying silence, Lance tried to get a hold of his surroundings. He found himself to be in a vast ballroom, with white and purple columns lifting up a gaping dome to act as a ceiling. The walls were lined with prestigious silver crystals and glowing shields. The dome at the roof of the room was covered in large shimmering scales the color of emeralds. Lance shuddered at the thought of how the owner of the room had acquired those scales.  
  
The room was empty except for a throne that looked like it could fit five of Lance's younger siblings. The throne was made of all gold with visuals of different parts of the universe engraved on the armrests. Lance even recognized some of the galaxies from his time in space.  
  
As the paladin’s eyes moved toward the center of the throne he flinched abruptly when he realized there was a mysterious being standing in front of the throne in golden chains. The stranger wore a black cloak over their clothes with a large hood sprouting from the neck. Luscious white hair sprawled out from under the hood resting seamlessly on top of the shoulders of the person who, Lance could only assume was a beautiful girl.  
  
Slowly, Lance got to his feet already practicing in his mind what he would say to the shackled woman before him. "What's a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this? And how can I help?"  
  
After a brief moment the stranger took a step towards him and laughed. However, it wasn't the laugh of a helpless maiden like Lance had hoped. It was a laugh of mocking, and it definitely came from a man. Lance face-palmed himself internally.

_Holy quiznak, I hit on a guy?_

The man took a long and confident stride, crossing the distance between him and Lance, before stopping ten feet away and speaking with a cold voice that sent shivers down Lances spine, "Blue Paladin, I know well my purpose in this colossal wonder of a castle. Although, I bet you are having a bit of trouble recalling what you are doing here."  
  
Lance looked down at his feet, that suddenly appeared to be very far away from his head. He tried to remember anything from before he woke up. He couldn't.

_How long have I been here? Are my friends okay? Why-_

Lance was drawn from his thoughts at the sound of the man’s voice. Though, he was still too distraught to hear what he had said. "W-What?", Lance's voice came out meek and unsure.  
  
The stranger laughed once more, making Lance recoil, for it truly was a terrifying noise, and repeated himself, "I'm correct aren't I?"  
  
Lance couldn't find the time or the concentration to answer, instead he activated his bayard and aimed it at the strange new enemy as he pulled back his hood. Yellow eyes were all Lance needed to see for him to shoot.  
  
Before the hot, and highly charged electricity from the bayard could even reach the halfway point between him and the person across from him, the Galra parried and moved as fast and as slick as lighting, to the opposite side of Lance.

He pivoted as fast as he could, bayard still raised and facing the enemy, who he now had a clear picture of. The man stood tall with a satisfied posture. His skin was a soft lilac color and appeared to be smoother than silk. His limbs were rugged and experienced, but his figure was still slim. His face had two red, streaky scars down the side of his face, and gorgeous sharp features all the way down to his jaw, with flowing white hair only amplifying his attractiveness.

The person before Lance was as beautiful as he was frightening. And the eyes...the eyes were the worst of all. The stranger’s eyes were bright yellow with electrifying purple irises. They made Lances deep blue ones dilate with fear when he made contact with them. They were filled with playfulness, manipulation, and conceit. The phra _se ‘eyes are the windows to the soul’_ found its way into Lance’s mind.

The black cloak fell from the individual’s shoulders in a slow, sinking motion. Underneath was a fitting white battle suit, decorated with orange and purple lines and symbols, and golden cuff-like bracelets ran up his arms and neck. The stranger smiled, it was dark; welcoming and demanding at the same time. “Well aren’t you a fun one. You know, I’ve always been _such_ an enthusiast for games.”

“Funny,” Lance started, raising an eyebrow. “I can’t stand them.

The Galra eyed him, breaking apart any sudden rise of confidence in the blue paladin.

Lance attempted to take a step back but his body wouldn't do what his mind told it. He was completely frozen. "Who are you?" He asked, bayard still aimed at the man’s chest.

  
The mans sneer deepened and Lance could swear he saw his yellow eyes get brighter. "How rude of me. I am Prince Lotor, perhaps you've heard of my father...", Lotor paused and took another step towards Lance, still smiling maliciously, "Zarkon."  
  
Lance blinked, taken aback by his introduction. The fear that coursed through his veins was greater than any he'd ever experienced. He took a deep breath and lifted his shoulders, "I-”  
  
Lotor scoffed, interrupting Lance as he pushed his hair back, "Trust me, I am well aware that you brought death upon my single-minded Father. Do not fret however, I do not take it personally. You did this inadequate empire a favor."  
  
The prince began to pace around Lance eyeing him up and down like a jaguar about to pounce. The tense mood in the ballroom only becoming more pronounced as Lotor’s boots clacked against the consecrated floor.  
  
_Clack._  
  
_Clack._  
  
Clack.  
  
A low, curious hum came from Lotor’s full lips. "What a magnificent little creature you are", The white-haired Galra noted. "I've never seen eyes such as yours, they remind me of the endless oceans I have encountered on the many helpless worlds that are now under my control."  
  
Lance wasn't sure if he was supposed to be flattered or terrified. Either way, he couldn't really focus on what he was feeling as he was too busy trying to keep his composure. He replied, "That's lovely, really, thanks for that. It’s too bad I can’t say the same, considering _your_ eyes are the color of the gum that’s been stuck on my gym sneaker for three years."  
  
Zarkon's son paused in the midst of Lances shadow and began to sashay forward, removing the space between them until he was standing, almost leaning, against the opposite side of Lances blaster. It was like Lotor knew Lance wouldn't shoot.  
  
Lotor leaned closer so that he was face to face with the paladin, "As charming as it is to see, you should not try to act brave for me. I know that I can be a bit...startling." He said with a wink.

_Someone’s egocentric._

Lotor put his calloused hands on top of Lance’s and guided his hands carefully making his bayard deactivate. He then took his other hand and bent down to kiss it softly. His lips were dry, but not in a way that made Lance want to shrug him off. He looked up into Lance’s frantic eyes and smiled in a way that reminded him of a sunrise. Darkness evolving into light. "What do you want with me, anyway?", Lance asked, his cheeks turning a funny shade of pink.  
  
Lotors maniacal smirk transformed into a sideways smile, one that wasn't as scary as the last. His smooth voice talked in assurance, "Absolutely nothing, little prince, but at the same time, absolutely everything."  
  
Lance figured this guy was insane. What did that even mean?  
  
_‘Absolutely nothing, little prince, but at the same time, absolutely everything.’_  
  
And what was with that nickname? It gave Lance the chills. Lotor paused and chuckled devilishly, "You should feel honored, I very rarely let someone like you meet me in a way such as this."  
  
"Yes, because I always feel honored to have someone wave their coconut scented hair in my face, and invade my personal space bubble," Lance said, sarcasm dripping from his words.  
  
The prince ignored his comment and began to move once again. The paladin made sure to never fault; to never budge as Lotor stood up straight and placed his hand onto one of Lance’s cheeks. He felt his jaw clench as one of the prince's fingers began to trace the edge of his face. “What a pretty little face you have,” Lotor said in amused malice.  
  
Slowly, Lotor’s hand made its way down to Lance’s neck, and he felt two fingers press gently into his throat, causing him to gulp.  
  
"Simply lovely," Lotor said, his eyes glistening, "You know, Blue Paladin-"  
  
"The name's Lance," Lance spat. He already felt like a baby being spoon fed, he wouldn't allow his enemy of all people remind him of the fact that he was no longer the pilot of the Blue Lion as well. For months Lance had made Keith act as a martyr for targeting jokes and punch lines. Now, in this conflicting situation, he had a feel for what it was like. Deep down, he sort-of felt sorry for it.  
  
Lotor raised his eyebrows at Lance’s newfound confidence and smirked. "Lance," He said, as if testing how the name sounded. He continued, "Lance, I could easily kill you with nothing but my bare hands in this very moment."  
  
Lotor _really_ needed to work on his flirting techniques. Lance went to move his hand to activate his bayard once again, but was stopped by Lotor’s strong grasp. He looked up at the prince, meeting his golden eyes, before turning his gaze away in uncertainty.  
  
"That is not my intention, not yet at least. See, I like to play with my prey before I give them a true sense of misery," Lotor released Lance and took a step back, "and you, Blue Paladin, have just caught my eye."  
  
Lance stood in silence trying form a coherent sentence as the Galra walked away, silky hair trailing behind him. Before exiting the ballroom completely he paused and called over his shoulder, "See you again soon, my dear Lance, it has been...entertaining."  
  
As soon as the prince left Lance felt his heart began to beat again. But before he could comprehend what had just happened he felt a sharp pain in the back of his shoulder, and the world faded into darkness once more. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there it is! 
> 
> Lance finally met Lotor, in a bit of a heated way too.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed reading it, I really had fun writing as Lotor and can't wait to add more.


End file.
